A Place Called Home (Beyond The Walls Pt 2)
by ashlynnb14
Summary: Happy and the rest of the club are out following a five-year stint. Happy has no plans of going back inside and is focused on building a relationship with his kids and getting back to his wife Katerina. Can he balance home and the club or will one win out over the other? Completely AU set in modern day. Focus is Happy/Kat but Jax/Tara Chibs/Lauren and Juice/Kiara as well.
1. Welcome Home

**Okay, this is Part II to Beyond the Walls! If you haven't read that yet, I really suggest doing so or you're going to be really lost! I hope you all enjoy and are as excited about this installment as I am!**

**COMING HOME**

I walked through the gates and into the cheers of my brothers that had carried the club over the past five years. Kozik pulled me into a brotherly hug and passed my kutte over to me. I smiled and smelt a faint hint of vanilla on the leather. She told me she slept in it when she missed me too much. Smelling her soft scent had me aching to get home.

The ride back to Charming gave me the time to think about how much my family had grown in the past five years. Freya had started kindergarten and Ollie was already in some preschool that he wasn't too thrilled about. He'd asked me to make Kat let him stay at the clubhouse instead. Then there was Hope that was born exactly nine and a half months after my Ma's funeral. She was a couple weeks over 18 months old now and she looked just like her mother.

The clubhouse came into focus and I felt my pulse quicken. I revved my bike and Jax looked over at me with his signature Teller smile. We filed into the lot and I barely got my bike backed in before Freya was running over to me. Ollie walked casually behind her.

"Daddy! You are here for good, right?" I picked her up and tossed her onto my shoulders, sending her into a fit of giggles. Ollie smiled and let me give him a hug. He considered himself to be too grown up to be held. It bothered me when Kat first told me about it, but it was the Lowman in him.

"Come here, Katerina." I pulled her into my arms and kissed her like I meant it. Her lips parted with a small moan and I slipped my tongue into her perfect mouth. I could smell her vanilla shampoo and I couldn't get enough of her. My senses were on overdrive and I just wanted more.

"Hap, we got church in ten." Jax said with a laugh as he walked past with Tara under his arm. Thomas and Abel were nowhere to be seen and I just assumed Tara wouldn't be the type to pull them out of school for this.

"Better be short, Pres. I got a wife to lay." I shot back at him. Katerina smacked my chest and gave me a chastising look. I glanced up at Freya who was still perched on my shoulders and smirked unashamedly. Ollie raised his brow and pulled on my wallet chain to get my attention.

"Why's mommy going to bed? It's not time to lay down." His innocence made me laugh as I shook my head. I slid Freya down off my back and glanced back at Kat.

"Mommy has been bad." I said with a wink. Ollie surprised me by throwing his hands up in the air and shaking his head.

"We just talked about that!" He said with a sigh. I couldn't help laughing at how exasperated Katerina looked. Ollie rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around Freya's shoulders.

"Juice! Quit sucking face so we can get church over with." I yelled at Juice who had Kiara's legs around his waist and his tongue halfway down her throat. He flipped me a bird and Freya stormed over to him. I watched her, curious as to what was going on.

"We don't shoot birdies, dude. That's five bucks in the bad jar!" Freya held her hand out and Kiara nodded to Juice. He gave me a look and rolled his eyes as he gave her a five dollar bill. She took it over to Katerina who smirked at Juice.

"You're going to afford a new car by the time you're ten." She told Freya with a laugh. I ruffled my daughters dark hair as I walked into the clubhouse. Juice slowed down to for me to catch up with him.

"Your daughter is running a highway robbery here, Hap." I smiled proudly and hitched my shoulder. I reminded myself to ask Freya if I was exempt from the bad jar fee. If not, I might as well dump a grand in the jar to pay forward for a couple weeks.

"First, I want to thank Bobby and all of you that kept this club running while we were inside. I know it wasn't easy, but you did a hell of a job." Jax said with a smile and nod. Everyone sitting around the table started hitting the Redwood with their fists or palms in celebratory agreement. Jax let it go on for a minute before holding his hand up and sitting down. The room fell silent.

"Bobby, is there anything pressing we need to be aware of?" I glanced over at Bobby and imagined myself strangling him if he said anything that kept me away from my wife any longer. He leaned forward and wrung his hands together.

"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow but we're starting to have some pushback from the Irish. They want us back in guns and in a big way. They're sending some fresh faces over for a sit down at the end of the week." Bobby's news didn't make any of us feeling terribly happy. Jax looked over at me and raised his brow. I shook my head, letting him know I didn't like the sound of it, at all.

"Well, it's only Monday and Happy might come across the table if this goes on much longer." Chibs said with a laugh as he slid a large canvas bag over. Jax started passing out stacks of envelopes to those of us that were inside. It was our cut of the club's profits over the past five years. I stuffed my three envelopes in my kutte and jeans before strumming my thumb on the table impatiently. Jax laughed.

"Bro, you've got three kids. You can wait until the gavel drops to try for a fourth." Juice said with an eye roll. I looked over at him and narrowed my eyes. He puts his hands up defensively and remained silent until the gavel dropped. Katerina was waiting by the couch while Ollie and Freya played in the floor.

"Let's get home, woman. I'll drive." I scooped Freya up by her waist and tossed her over my shoulder. Her booted feet kicked out dangerously but she didn't actually make contact with my head. Ollie laughed and walked beside me, looking up and giving me a half grin. Katerina strapped them in booster seats in the back seat while I grabbed my saddle bags off the bike and tossed them in the back of the Armada.

"Ellie said Hope's fever has gone down a little but she's still fussy." Katerina said as she held my right hand in both of her hands. I nodded and glanced over at her with a smile. She may have been five years older than when I went inside, but she only looked more beautiful. Her hair was still long, blonde, and wavy. Having three kids gave her fuller boobs and a bigger ass then when we met, but she was obsessive over keeping everything else flat and toned.

"You doing okay, Kat?" I knew she was happy to have me home, but Harley had to be put down a few days ago. The phone call after she got home from the vet was impossible for me to understand through her crying. She said he was doing everything he could to hold on until I got home, but it got to the point where he couldn't even stand up.

"I'm better now that you're home, Hap." I saw the sadness flash in her eyes and I decided not to push the subject. I knew it tore her up. That dog was like our first kid back when we first got together. He also saved our lives more than Lassie ever saved that Timmy kid.

I pulled into our driveway and shook my head at the little, red convertible parked next to my truck. I knew better to think it was Katerina's, since it wasn't a Nissan, so it had to be Ellie's. Kat had gotten pretty close to Opie's kid since I went in and she was doing her best to keep her straight.

"Hey Hap! Welcome home." Ellie said as I walked inside, ducking to avoid smacking Ollie's head on the top of the door frame. I squatted down and slid him off my back before nodding at Ellie. She was wearing what looked like a bra and some shorts that I'd kick Freya's ass for wearing.

"Hey. You need some money for clothes?" Katerina elbowed me hard in the side and I shrugged my shoulder. Ellie rolled her eyes but kept smiling. Freya pulled on her hand and started whispering in her ear once she bent down towards her.

"Okay, well y'all have fun. We're going to go take care of something. Hope just went down for a nap, finally." Ellie said with a smile and nod to Freya. I narrowed my eyes at her, wondering what the secrecy was about. Kat rubbed my arm and I glanced over at her.

"It's fine, Hap. They'll just be out back." She said with a kiss to my shoulder. I twisted my mouth unhappily but if she said it was okay and it got me alone with her then I wasn't going to say no. Freya, Ellie and Ollie headed through the kitchen and out to the back yard with Mayhem, the Newfoundland I'd gotten Freya for her fourth birthday, followed them outside. It was hard to believe the huge dog was a puppy just two years ago.

"She looks more like you now, Kat. I really need more guns when she and Freya get older." I said quietly as I looked at Hope sleeping peacefully in her bed. Katerina laughed and shook her head.

"I think Ollie will help you with them. He thinks Ryder has a crush on Freya and he's not happy about it." She was smiling and I huffed.

"No way, Kat. That little shit head hurt her feelings." I growled as we walked to the bedroom. She laughed and slapped my arm playfully.

"That was two years ago and your daughter broke his nose for it. If he wants to have a crush on her after that then that's on him." She had a point but I still didn't like it. Freya was too damn young for me to have to chase guys away.

"If you broke my nose, I'd still probably have a crush on you." Katerina looked at me incredulously before she jumped up and wrapped her legs around my waist. I could feel her three inch heels on my back as I kissed her. She wasn't being shy or wasting any time as she slid her tongue into my mouth. I growled deep in my throat and grabbed a handful of her ass.

"Happy!" My name sounded like a prayer sliding easily off her tongue as I buried myself between her thighs. Her knees were by my sides and her heels that she kept on for me dug into my back. I held out as long as I could before we both got off together. She was panting against my ear as I rested my head on her shoulder. Once she recovered, she nipped my earlobe playfully.

"We can do more of that later, baby. Your daughter scares me and she has a surprise for you. I've been warned about making you late for her big reveal." Katerina said as she slid out from under me. I groaned but I wanted to see what the big secret was and spend time with the kids.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

"Mommy, make him close his eyes!" Freya said as we walked outside. I looked up at happy who didn't look excited about being blinded at all. He was wrapped around that little brunette's finger though, so he closed his eyes. I led him down the steps and ignored the grumbling under his breath. Freya took his other hand and pulled him towards the garage.

"Count to three!" Ollie said as he held the doorknob. Happy smirked and counted to three in Spanish. Freya nodded to Ollie and he opened the door. Happy opened his eyes and stepped into the garage behind Freya.

"Do you like it, Daddy?" Freya looked up at him with an uneasy expression. Happy was quiet and concentrating on the bike that he was walking around and looking at. I had worked with Kozik to pick out the perfect bike for him and got it customized by a friend of Quinn's. Happy ran his hand over the seat that was stamped with Redwood Original. He bent down and looked at the matte black SOA letters on either side of the tank before standing up and looking over at me.

"I love it, mija. Come here." He picked both Ollie and Freya up simultaneously. They were hugging him as he looked at me with a warm smile. I leaned against the door that led to the backyard and mouthed "welcome home" with a tear in my eyes. He nodded and kissed both the kid's foreheads before putting them down.

"Go grab my helmet, mija." I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head. I knew what he was planning and didn't like it at all. He kissed me and gave me a mischievous smirk. The boyish playfulness in his eyes prevented me from arguing. Freya showed back up with one of his helmets out of the closet and handed it over to him.

"You get to go when we get back, buddy." Ollie nodded and watched as Happy strapped the helmet on to Freya's head. It was too big for her, of course, but she was over the moon. I swallowed hard as Happy smacked the button to lift the garage door before getting on the bike. He slid forward a little and picked Freya up, putting her right behind him. Freya gripped onto his sides tightly.

"You go off this street and we're going to have problems, Happy. I'm not kidding." I threatened him as he nodded and backed the bike out to the street. He started the bike and called back to Freya for her to hold on. My nerves were shot by the time they got back from going up and down the street a couple times.

"My turn!" Ollie yelled, running up to the bike once it was turned off. Happy went through the same motions and ride with him before coming back and pulling into the garage. I folded my arms and gave him a look.

"Let's hold off and giving Hope a ride, okay?" Happy laughed and nodded, kissing me on the mouth and pinching my ass. Freya giggled and ran into the backyard to play with Mayhem. Ollie headed to the patio to play with his cars and trucks. They were both happy to have their father home for good, and so was I.

**If you want to see Happy's new bike, you can find a link in my profile :) Reviews are like hugs to me :)**


	2. Profits

"So, how do you like having Happy home?" Tara asked as we walked out of our yoga class. It felt like pulling teeth to get her to come with me, but I think she was starting to actually enjoy it. I tossed my mat in the back of my Armada before walking down to the café.

"I don't think I even realized how much I missed him until he got home. He helps with the kids, who think he hung the moon and the damn sun for that matter. Hope is even smitten with him. I honestly never knew he would be such a family man." Our normal waitress gave us a smile as she sat us at a café table on the patio.

"Jax said he was showing Freya and Ollie lefty loosey and righty tighty in the garage yesterday. I told him he should have taken a picture." Tara and I placed our orders quickly since we didn't have to read the menu. I sipped on my raspberry tea and smiled at the mental image of the kids working in the garage with Happy.

"Men don't think about stuff like that. How's the Teller household?" I asked, leaning back in the chair and pushing my sunglasses up to the top of my head. She gave me a small smile and hitched her shoulder.

"Good, I think. Jax is trying to bond with the boys but Abel is busy with football and Thomas just doesn't know what to think about him. He's been at the clubhouse a lot." Tara looked relieved when Mallory gave us our orders. I felt bad for my friend, but I knew the bond that Happy had with the kids was rare. Lauren had already told me about Ryder and Chibs barely talking. Something told me my decision to take them to visitation twice a month, though controversial, was partially to thank for their relationship.

"Is Gemma still thinking about setting up a kids table for dinner Sunday?" Tara accepted the change of subject and we delved into talk of the upcoming family dinner. The sound of an approaching motorcycle made us both look up from our meals. I caught sight of long blonde hair behind a sturdy, tan biker and knew it was just Juice and Kiara. He stopped the bike and waited for her to get off safely. She gave him a PG-13 kiss before flouncing over and sitting next to me.

"I'm getting pregnant." She announced with a proud smile. I about choked on my salad. Tara looked over at Kiara and opened her mouth, but words didn't come out.

"Getting or are?" I asked as Kiara pulled my salad over in front of her and started eating it. She swallowed and put her hand up to keep us waiting.

"Getting. How could I already be? They've been home for three days. We tried a few times before I came over here. I jutted wanted you to know first." Kiara went back to eating as I tried not to laugh.

"I feel like that was a really weird way to tell me you and Juice fucked earlier. I'm happy to hear you're trying for a baby though. My kids need a tan cousin. Ryder, Abel, and Thomas make them look so dark." I laughed and gave Tara a wink. She rolled her eyes and waved my comment off.

"Oh, Happy said to tell you he bought the kids helmets and that if you have a problem with it you can put your heels on. I really don't want to know what all that is about cause he was smirking and that scares me." Kiara said with a giggle. She was obviously high on sex and her mood was contagious.

"Oh, yes I will." I couldn't even keep a straight face. Tara had been around long enough to know I was borrowing Happy's phrase, but Kiara missed out on the joke. I twisted my ring around my finger and suddenly missed my husband.

"Go already! He's probably driving Gemma crazy about leaving the garage early too." Tara said, giving me a hug as I stood up. I laughed and gave her a peck on the cheek before waving to Kiara who agreed to catch a ride with Tara. Her car was at the dealer for some warranty repairs and she had been bumming rides for a few days. I walked briskly to my car, focusing on seeing Happy so much so that I walked right into a woman with beautiful kinky, curly hair and light cocoa skin. She glared at my apologetic smile.

"Ya want ta watch where ya're going?" She had a thick Irish accent and I almost reconsidered snapping back at her. It was my fault for running into her, but she had no reason to be so rude.

"I'm sorry, maybe that was just karma coming back around. You seem like the type to need a good slap in the face for something or another." Tara walked towards us with Kiara on her heels. The Irish woman smirked and stepped up to me. She was a good four inches taller than I was.

"If ya only knew who I was." She hissed and scowled further when her threat made me laugh. Kiara crossed her arms over her chest and stood close by in case the woman tried anything. Tara was on her phone, no doubt calling the guys or Gemma.

"If I knew who you were I would call you by name. Instead, I'm just going to have to settle with calling you a fucking bitch. So, I'm sorry for walking into you, you fucking bitch." She glanced at something behind me before walking past me, ramming her shoulder into mine. I wanted to spin around and put her nose to the concrete sidewalk, but dealing with Charming PD would severely delay me seeing Happy.

"Jax wants us at the clubhouse. They weren't supposed to get here until later this week." Tara said, sliding her phone back into her purse. I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to lead the way back to the cars. Kiara gave me a wink.

"Think you could have taken her, Shelia. You may be short but you're scrappy." She teased as if she wasn't less than an inch taller than me. I shook my head, no longer in the mood for joking around. Kiara hopped in my passenger seat and cranked the radio up as I waited for Tara to back out of the space next to me.

We arrived to a locked down lot and I didn't even try to suppress my groan. Lockdown was a pain before having three children. Now, it was down right atrocious. The lack of space and abundance of sweet-butts and croweaters only made it worse. On the bright side, I could steal Happy away to his old dorm room, hopefully.

"Mommy! Daddy had to pay the bad jar five times this morning!" Freya said, running up to me with a wad of cash. I laughed and put the money in the side pocket of my purse. The money was going to eventually buying she and Ollie a car to share. With the return of our guys from Stockton, it looked like they would each get their own though.

"Ollie, why are you covered in oil?" I asked after giving Freya a hug. He was walking beside Happy and it was comical to see how similar they were. Happy had a certain, confident way of walking. It wasn't so much a swagger like Jax, but he was definitely sure of himself. Ollie was mimicking it perfectly.

"It's grease, babe. He was helping me with some shi- stuff." Happy corrected himself before Freya could charge him another five dollars. Ollie nodded and smiled proudly. I was just happy that he wasn't in good clothes today. Freya, on the other hand, decided to wear her best blue jeans and white button down shirt. She liked to dress like me whenever possible.

"Grease or oil, they're both dirty. Where's Hope?" He was supposed to be watching all three kids while I was out with Tara. He pointed towards the office where Gemma was standing with a waving Hope. I smiled and waved back at my youngest daughter.

"You two go bug your aunt." Happy said, ruffling Freya's hair just so she would give him a dirty look. He laughed and nudge her bottom with his boot as she and Ollie headed over to Kiara who was talking to Ellie near the playground. Happy and I headed into the clubhouse so we could talk with Jax and the others about the bitch I'd literally run into.

"So, you don't know her name?" Jax asked after I filled him in. I shook my head and leaned against Happy. My arms were around his neck and I was sitting in his lap. Ever since he got home, I wasn't really shy about public displays of affection and Happy said he was proud to show me off.

"Like I said, she was labeled fucking bitch. She looked kind of familiar though. Like I knew someone in her family or something. It's weird because the only person I've ever met from Ireland is Chibs and well, he's technically Scottish." I was thinking out loud at that point, but it seemed to light something up for Jax. He looked over at Chibs, who shook his head. Lauren raised her brow before scoffing.

"Hell no. I'm not dealing with the wife less than a week after you get out of prison." Lauren stood up from her seat next to Chibs and shook her head.

"Woah, woah, there's no way this bitch was his wife. She was younger than I am. Hell, she's probably younger than Kiara." Chibs slid a folded picture over to me and I opened it carefully. It's corners were dog eared and I could see the wear from the years it must have been folded and unfolded. "Well, stone the crows."

"What?" Happy pulled back and looked at me with a raised brow. I laughed and shook my head. He twisted his mouth and waited for an explanation.

"Sorry, it's kind of funny considering SAMCRO. No, but it's just an expression. Like, oh my gosh or something like that. I spent a lot of time with Kiara while you were away. Anyways, that's her, just not a kid anymore." I slid the picture back to Chibs who looked both sick and angry at the same time. He put his hand over his face and shook his head.

"Shite, wha in tha hell is she doin' here?" Chibs wasn't asking anyone in particular but Tara made a noise and got his attention.

"Well, she saw some guy in a suit and brushed past Katerina to leave with him." Tara obviously didn't want to be the messenger, but I hadn't seen it. Happy shook his head and tightened his hold on my thighs.

"If they're hear early and haven't made contact they're planning something. I don't like it." I had to agree with my husband. It was definitely suspicious. Jax nodded and squeezed Tara's hand. I knew what he was about to say before he even opened his mouth.

"We've got to go get Mayhem or Freya will flip her shit." I said, looking at Happy with a frown. Jax nodded.

"Tig, get everybody here. We're locking down at least through the night. Let Chucky know we aren't taking any deliveries and no vehicles come in that aren't one of ours. I don't want another car bomb. Just because it wasn't the Irish then doesn't mean they're above it." Jax said as I stood up. Chibs grumbled something but I'm fairly certain it was in Gaelic.

"Rat! Follow Katerina to my house and make damn sure she gets back without any problems. Get them some clothes and shit to, babe. I've got to talk to Chibs and see what he knows about his crazy ass daughter." He kissed me deeply before gently pushing me towards the Armada.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

"Daddy, I really don't like lockdowns." Freya said after I explained what was going on and why Katerina was going to get Mayhem. Ollie licked on a popsicle that Kiara had bribed them with and didn't really seem to care if he had to stay here or not. To be honest, he may have cared but he never showed any damn emotions. I finally understood why it drove Katerina crazy when I did that.

"So I've heard, mija. Just think of it as a big slumber party or something." She scowled at me and I realized it wasn't going to be that easy to please her. Ollie looked up at me and paused from the sticky red popsicle he was getting everywhere.

"Is Thomas coming?" I nodded and he mimicked my nod without another word. I opened my mouth to ask him why he wanted to know but I already knew the answer. He and Thomas were good friends and it would just be pointless to make him say it. I silently wondered if that's why no one really tried to force me to talk anymore.

"Damnit, Daddy! Ryder is coming to isn't he? He's such a prick." My princess' words surprised the hell out of me. I looked over at her and tried to be serious and tell her not to say that.

"Don't say that shit around your mother or at school. You don't get any cash from me for saying shit either. Little potty mouth." She huffed and shook her head. Knowing that she couldn't stand Ryder who supposedly had a crush on her made me proud. If Hope was as anti-boy as Freya was then I'd consider myself pretty lucky.

"Hey doll, want me to help you with the kids?" Tandy, a croweater that showed up while I was locked up, asked with a wink. Ollie shook his head and Freya turned on her scowl that Katerina said she got from me. She had so many damn facial expressions it hurt my head to keep up with them all. Hell, the kid had at least three different scowls.

"No, they're fine. Go see if Tara and Gemma need help setting shit up." I gestured towards the clubhouse before turning back to look at Ollie. He was staring at her as she walked away and I tried to hide my smirk. He finally shrugged and went back to eating what was left of the popsicle. Freya climbed up from the bench to the table top so she was eye level with Ollie and I. She held out her hand, palm up.

"Nope, you called Ryder a prick so you don't get cash for that one either." I explained with a smirk. Her face prepared to argue, but then she stopped and sighed.

"You're messing up my profits, Daddy." I laughed loudly and hugged her to me. She probably spent a lot of time in the office at the bar while Katerina was working on the books. I couldn't tell if she really knew what profits were but the kid always kept me laughing.

"You'll live. Stay right here. I'm going to get Hope before Gemma corrupts her. Neither one of you move, at all." I eyed both of them as the nodded and scooted closer together. I read a text from Rat, letting me know they were on the way back, as I walked into the clubhouse. Tandy was standing by the bar with Hope. She was crying loudly and I felt my blood start heating up as I got closer.

"There better be a good fucking reason you're holding my daughter." I growled, taking Hope from her. The croweater blushed a little and smiled.

"Gemma told me to hold her while she and Tara worked on something. She's adorable." She fluttered her eyelashes at me and ran a hand over my arm. I could feel Hope's tears on my neck as she hid her face and continued to cry.

"Yeah, she gets it from my wife. Where's Gemma?" She got the point to stop touching me and pointed down the dorm hall. I headed in that direction as Hope started quieting down. Gemma and Tara were rummaging through a closet I honestly never noticed before. It was full of pillows, sheets and towels.

"Don't give my kid to somebody else when you offer to watch her. Unless they've got a crow or a kutte, they don't touch my fucking children." I growled as Gemma turned to look at me. She slammed her hands on her hips but Tara stopped her.

"You aren't going to win when it comes to the kids, Gem. Trust me." Tara said with a small smile to me. I neutralized my expression and headed back to Freya and Ollie. Hope started gabbing about nothing as we got out to the sun. Freya and Ollie were sitting exactly where I left them.

**If you lovely readers remember, Happy was super protective when Kat was pregnant and when Freya was a baby and Tara learned that the hard way. They're on a lot better terms now, but he's protective as ever :) Let me know what you think so far!**


	3. Lockdown Begins

"Lauren, you've got to let up on the whole wife and kid thing. You're his old lady now and you two have a child. Why let something from way before you came around mess things up?" Katerina asked as she opened the passenger door to let Mayhem out. I put Hope down so she could play with the dog and gave Katerina a quick kiss. Lauren closed her car door and looked over at Chibs who was backing his bike back into line.

They had gone to pick Ryder up from a friend's house, so I still hadn't got the chance to talk to him about Kerrianne. He hopped out of the car and headed over to Thomas and Abel who were on the swing set. Lauren turned to Katerina once he was out of earshot. She sighed and shook her head.

"Wife outweighs old lady any day." I shook my head, irritated at myself for getting involved in the conversation that I thought was settled five years ago.

"No, it doesn't. Not to your old man and not to the club. You got straight with the gashes here but you're going to flip out about someone who's leaving in a few days? I don't fucking understand women." I growled as Hope pulled on the chain that hand down from my waist.

"Up, Dada!" She grinned at me and I did as she said, picking her up with a little toss at the top. She giggled, as usual, before crawling around to sit on my shoulders. Katerina gave me a look that reminded me that I spoiled the kids, but I was getting good at ignoring it.

"Yeah? Then why did you two even get married if it doesn't mean anything?" She was getting too personal and I didn't owe her an explanation. I narrowed my eyes and left the conversation, going to seek out Chibs to get all the intel he had on his now grown daughter.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

"Lauren, you know he's a private person. Why we got married doesn't have anything to do with you and Chibs. Why are you even stressing when we don't know if the wife is here? Are you seriously jealous of his daughter?" I asked, irritated that she'd questioned Happy about our marriage. She was my best friend for a long time, but she wasn't even the same person I opened the bar with so many years ago.

"I'm not jealous of his daughter or his wife. I just want our family to be what's most important. I'm already competing with the club. His first family is just another thing that knocks us off the top rung." Her whining and refusal to understand was irritating me and adding to my headache. I just shook my head, ending the argument before it got any worse. We headed over to the picnic table where Chibs and Happy were talking.

"Mama!" Freya was running towards us before I could even sit down next to Happy. Being a mother of three young children made sitting down a rare luxury unless it was behind a steering wheel.

"What, baby?" Mayhem started barking loudly from over by the playground. She took my hand and tried to pull me along with her.

"The boys are fighting, Mama! Hurry up!" I moved quickly, barely noticing Happy behind me. I snapped at Mayhem, silencing him almost instantly. Sure enough, Thomas and Ryder were wrestling on the ground while Abel tried to break them up.

"Knock it off!" I snapped, grabbing Thomas up by the waistband of his jeans. He was still throwing punches and trying to get back at Ryder. Chibs pulled Ryder over and inspected him for any cuts or bruises. I let the youngest Teller boy go, knowing he wouldn't try to get to Ryder with Chibs there.

"What happened, Ollie?" Happy passed Hope over to me and squatted down to talk to our son. He shook his head and scowled over at Ryder. "Oliver, now."

"He pushed Freya down and I hit him." Ollie said matter of factually. Happy and I looked over at Freya and I noticed the dirt on her previously spotless jeans. She twisted her mouth but didn't say anything.

"So, how did Thomas start fighting Ryder?" Lauren asked no one in particular. Abel, being the oldest of the children smirked and I realized Jax could never deny him being Abel's father if he ever wanted to.

"Ollie's too young to fight Ryder. Thomas pulled him off and took his place. Dad told us to kick some ass if someone ever fucks with the girls." My jaw dropped at his language, never having heard him curse before. He shrugged and gave me an apologetic smile. "I'm just saying what Dad told me."

"None of you are old enough to be fighting like this. Ryder, did you mean to push Freya?" Lauren asked her son who was standing between she and Lauren. He glanced up at his dad and Happy before nodding ever so slightly. Happy glowered at him as Freya folded her arms over her chest.

"Told you he was a prick, Daddy!" I raised my brow and looked at Happy who was fighting a smile. I rolled my eyes and decided to choose my battles and not even ask about that comment.

"Mija, take Ollie and Hope inside and have Kiara give you some juice or something." Happy checked her palms and knees for any scrapes before gently pushing her on her way. Mayhem walked beside them, careful to walk slow enough for Hope to hold onto his collar. That was how she had learned to walk.

"You want to tell me why you pushed Freya down?" Happy growled at Ryder. Thomas and Abel headed off to follow our kids inside. They knew when to get out of Dodge. Ryder stuck out his bottom lip and remained silent.

"Answer him, Ryder." Chibs said, tapping him lightly on the back of the head with his palm. Lauren's eyes flashed even though it was barely hard enough to feel it.

"She wouldn't kiss me." Ryder mumbled with his eyes to the ground. Happy stood up straight and ran his hands over his scalp.

"You pushed her down because she wouldn't kiss you? Freya was right, you are a prick." I could see the vein in Happy's neck pulsing and knew there was so much more he wanted to say. If Ryder were old enough, he probably would have dragged him into the ring.

"Hap, go check on Ollie, babe." He gave me a look before nodding and storming away. I heard the door slam a few moments later. Lauren picked Ryder up and gave Chibs a dirty look. I stepped in before they could start arguing.

"Whatever is going on between the two of you is affecting him. He's never been like this before. I'm not okay with your problems affecting my kids. Either work it out or don't but do something." I turned away and headed into the clubhouse, fully prepared for the rage that Happy was holding in.

"Kiara, do you mind watching them for a few more minutes? I need to talk to Hap." I gave her a hug as she nodded and pecked me on the cheek. She headed over to the three of them who were teaming together on a mighty battle of tug-a-war with Mayhem. Happy didn't even say anything before grabbing my hand and leading me back to his old dorm.

"Tell me this shit didn't happen when I was inside, Kat. I don't care if they're kids or not. Anybody hurts them and they'll find their way to a shallow grave in chigger woods." He growled as he paced the room. I caught him as he passed by me and put my hands on either side of his face.

"Hap, Freya is fine. They're all fine. I promise you, it hasn't happened before but you can't say shit like that about a little boy. He's going through a lot worse time than our kids, baby. I know Lauren and Chibs fight all the time." I relaxed as his eyes softened a little. He turned his head and kissed my palm lightly.

"Yeah, that's not our kids' faults though. I'd never hit you or the kids so I'll be damned if anyone else does, Kat." He pulled me to him and kissed me roughly. I smiled and pulled back to look up at him.

"Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you're protective? You're such a good father and husband, baby." I pushed his kutte off and put it on the chest of drawers as he grinned dangerously at me. I smiled and gave him a little push towards the bed.

"Gotta make sure I keep your pretty ass around. The minions are just part of the territory." I shook my head and he smirked. He and I both knew how full of shit he was.

"You're a bad liar, Happy." He nodded and kissed me quiet. I followed him down onto the bed, never breaking our connection. Everywhere his hands touched felt electrified and more alive than ever. It didn't matter what he did for the club or how many smiley faces were on his abs. With me, he was just Happy. He was the father of our three children and the best bad decision I ever made.

"What do you want, Katerina?" I sank my teeth into the warm skin of his neck and he growled deeply. I traced my tongue over the lines my teeth had left, earning a moan and his hand pushing my hips down onto his erection. I smiled and sat up so he could take my shirt off. He shook his head and bucked up, grabbing me around the middle and slamming my back into the mattress. My eyes widened as he ripped my white blouse open, popping every single button off of the shirt.

"Really? This was new, Hap." My scolding didn't phase him as his hands roamed over my chest and stomach. My cheeks reddened reflexively as his fingers brushed my stretch marks. I'd managed to avoid them with Freya and Ollie, but Hope wasn't hearing of it.

"Don't do that, Kat. You're perfect." He rasped, kissing my stomach as his fingers undid my jeans. I pulled his shirt over his head before he moved out of reach. His thumb rubbed from my clit to my back door a few times before his mouth started working its magic between my folds. I moaned softly, barely conscious of the paper thin dorm walls.

"Hap! Baby, please!" I whimpered, nearing the edge quickly. He slid three fingers into me quickly as he pulled back and rid himself of the jeans and boxers he was burdened with. My body clamped around his fingers and he flicked and pumped them into me. He waited until I reopened my eyes to pull his fingers out.

"You feel how wet you are, Kat?" He ran his fingers between my breasts, leaving a wet trail down my skin. I bit my lip, a little surprised at how intense my reaction to him was after all these years. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders back before grabbing my legs and flipping me over to my stomach. I picked my hips up slightly, inviting him to me. It didn't take much encouragement.

I couldn't manage words as he claimed me for his own. He knew exactly what to do to shove me over the edge again and again. His hands were on my ass with one hand gripping into the flesh and the other hand's thumb was massaging my backdoor. I knew what he wanted and pushed back towards him.

"I love you, baby. You, your body, fucking everything." He growled before moving slowly into the tighter, more taboo, spot. Maybe it was the naughtiness of it or maybe it was just the way I could feel ever centimeter of him, but it had me shuddering with pleasure within seconds.

"Baby, you okay?" He had gone still and silent with his cheek resting on my chest after reaching his own orgasm and flipping me back over. I gently traced my fingertips over his scalp, neck and back as he lay there. Eventually, he moved and looked down into my eyes.

"I don't ever want to see a day without you in it, Katerina. If anything ever happened to you." He shook his head and his eyes spoke volumes. I kissed him softly and shook my head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Happy. You can't say that though. You've got to be here for the kids." He looked unsure, but he nodded and brushed my hair out of my face. He smiled and brushed his lips over my forehead.

"Once Hope is Ollie's age, I want one more kid." He smirked until I nodded. Then, his smirk turned into an almost Juice caliber smile. I glanced over at my destroyed shirt on the floor and looked back at him.

"I'm gonna need a shirt, Killah." His growl was interrupted by a laugh. It always amused him when I wore his shirts since they hung on me like dresses. I smiled and watched him rummage through a drawer while I pulled my jeans on. He passed me a rolled up, white Reaper Crew shirt before pulling on his boxers and jeans.

A small, velvet box fell to the mattress as I unrolled the shirt. I blinked at it before looking up at a grinning Happy. My thumb ran over the soft, black velvet before I opened it slowly. Inside was a thin, platinum ring with a large, square diamond flanked by two smaller diamonds on either side of the larger, middle diamond.

"Happy," He cut me off with a shake of his head. He didn't want to be told he shouldn't have. So, instead, I slipped it on my right ring finger and pulled his mouth down onto mine. He yanked my body against his and deepened the kiss.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

"When I agreed to watch my nieces and nephew, I didn't know your conversation was going to take an hour and a half." Kiara said, making air quotations at the word conversation. I smirked and looked over at the kids and dog that were sleeping in some makeshift fort over at the couches.

"Conversation only took a couple minutes." Kiara blushed at my comment and Katerina laughed. I was just walking over to get the kids to bed when the gate alarm went off. I knew gun fire wouldn't be too far behind. I knocked both Kiara and Katerina down to the ground.

"Abel! Keep them down!" I yelled running past where he had already pulled the cushions down to cover the younger kids. He nodded as I busted through the door, guns drawn. I shoved Ellie into the clubhouse before rounding the corner quickly.


	4. Breakfast

"Ay! Quit fuckin' shooting!" Chibs knocked the gun out of the prospect's hand and rushed towards the gate. I kept my guns drawn and moved to back him up. Jax was right behind me, gun drawn.

"Jesus Christ, do you have a death wish?" Jax called out to the young woman Chibs was helping inside. He holstered his handgun, but I kept mine in my hand, only dropping my arms to my side. Chibs raised his brow at me.

"Brother, I'm not taking any chances with my kids inside." I explained and he nodded. Jax eyed Kerrianne suspiciously but didn't order her not to come in. Chibs looked torn between happy to have his daughter with him and worried as to why. Jax stepped in front of the clubhouse door, blocking anyone from getting inside.

"Brother, we're locked down with women and children in here. I know she's blood but that don't make her family. No weapons, no wires and no phone." Chibs sighed and nodded, knowing that the rules would have gone for anyone who wasn't part of the family. Kerrianne's Irish temper flared up and she stopped crying almost at once.

"No, Da, I'm not havin' ya search me." She stepped back and I narrowed my eyes, she was obviously hiding something.

"Either he searches you or one of the ol' ladies do." I offered up. Jax nodded in agreement and waited for a decision. Kerrianne looked from her father to Jax and threw her hands up in surrender.

"Aye, have one of ya lasses come out 'ere and ya three go inside." I laughed darkly and everyone looked over at me.

"Not happening, little girl. Not risking them alone with you." There was no point in hiding my distrust. Jax ignored her arguing and went in the clubhouse to get one of the women. Katerina walked out, mouth running with colorful language and Australian phrases no one but she and Kiara would understand. It made sense for Jax to pick Katerina, who used to be a prison guard, but she definitely wasn't happy about it.

"I have three children in there that don't understand why the alarm went off and Ollie wants to know who was shooting. So, you drag me out here to search Ms. Fucking Bitch who wanted to cause a blue earlier? You need to give her a flick before she can cause more shit!" Something about her anger had me readjusting my jeans and smirking proudly. She glared at me and then rolled her eyes with a sigh a moment later.

"You, turn around and think about how to calm the anklebiters down." She snapped at me before storming over to Kerrianne. I laughed and holstered one of the glocks, keeping my engraved one out. A couple minutes later, I heard her heels coming towards me right before she looped her arm through mine.

"She clean?" I asked, glancing back at Kerrianee as she pulled her hoodie back on. Katerina nodded and made a disgusted face.

"No wires, weapons or phones if that's what you mean by clean. Why in the bloody hell is she even here, Happy?" I shook my head, annoyed that I didn't have the answers either of us wanted. She twisted her mouth and picked a crying Hope up from Ellie's lap.

"Daddy, did you shoot somebody?" Ollie asked with large, round eyes. I shook my head and ruffled his dark brown hair. He looked a little deflated but nodded anyways. I scooped him up and nodded towards the dorm hall. Freya took my other hand and stuck by my side.

"You three need to get in bed. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I kissed Freya's cheek as she crawled between the sheets of the mattress that had been brought in for her and Ollie to share. I tucked my son in and looked him in the eyes. It was like looking back at my younger reflection.

"You good, little man?" He nodded and gave me a quick smile. I nodded and stood up, patting him on the chest. Katerina was already in bed with Hope curled up against her chest. I kissed them both goodnight and headed towards the door.

"Hap, you need to sleep when you can. There's room for you here." Katerina said with a tired smile. I recrossed the room and kissed her again.

"I will, Kat." She nodded and nuzzled her face down into Hope's straw blonde hair. I watched them for a couple minutes before quietly going back out to see what Jax had found out. He offered me a beer and turned around to watch Chibs and Kerrianne talking across the bar.

"What do you think our kids would be like if they didn't grow up around all the carnage, Hap? What if we just had normal families with big yards and white fences?" Jax asked, never looking away from the father and daughter dilemma.

"I do have a yard but the fence is dark brown. I don't know, Jax. You're asking like it's fucking them up. Your boy has better protective instincts and an understanding of family than most grown men do. He was already protecting the younger ones before I told him to." I took a long drink and looked over at him.

"He's ten, Hap. He shouldn't have to stop being a kid yet." He was shaking his head. I finished my beer off and called a croweater over for another.

"Brother, he's still a kid, he's just smarter than most. As long as they're safe and happy, I don't honestly care if it's normal. Hell, I met the mother of my children serving time. Nothing about Katerina and I is what people on the outside would call normal." I popped the fresh bottle top open on my belt buckle and tossed the cap on the bar. "What's really bothering you, Prez?"

"The five damn years I missed out on. Hell, I've been out of Abel's life more than I've been in it. I get out and he's not even a kid anymore." Jax flipped a cigarette over in his hand, but never moved to light it.

"I hear you, brother. Freya wasn't even a year old and neither Ollie nor Hope we're even born. That's why we gotta be smarter about shit. I'm not missing anymore of their lives. Can't really fix what's already done." Jax nodded and slid the cigarette back in the carton.

"You know, Clay used to be worried about you having a family. He always said it'd make you go soft." I took a drink to buy myself some time as I thought about what to say.

"What about you?" Jax laughed and shook his head, gesturing down the dorm hall with his fresh beer.

"Those three kids and Katerina have made you a scarier son of a bitch, brother. You've got something other than your brothers to fight for now." I laughed and nodded with a smile. He was right, I'd always fought for the club and my chosen family, but now I had that much more to lose. Even I knew that should scare people.

"What's your take on the kid?" I asked, changing the subject back to the elephant in the room. Jax shook his head and leaned back.

"Think she's not the scared kid we met back in Belfast. She might be trying to play the family card or she might be trying to make better choices than Fiona did. Either way, her being is going to bring trouble to our front door." Jax was right, whether she wanted to leave the IRA or whether she was working with them, her being here put the club and our families at risk.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

I woke up and smiled when I saw Happy's arm around my waist. Hope was sleeping soundly, as were Ollie and Freya. I didn't dare move for risk of waking someone up. Happy's lips pressed a kiss to the back of my neck and it sent shivers down my spine. He had short stubble on his chin where he hadn't gotten a chance to shave yesterday before he came to the garage.

"Morning." I whispered as softly as possible. He made a 'mmhm' noise down in his throat and kissed my neck again, this time nipping the sensitive spot with his teeth. I shook my head and turned as far towards him as possible without disturbing Hope.

"I love you." He mouthed as he pushed himself up to hover over me. I accepted his soft kiss before whispering it back. With our kids surrounding us and the birds chirping outside the window, I wondered if anything could possibly ruin the day. That's when the yelling started. I groaned and he rolled his eyes.

"Mommy." Hope whined as Ollie and Freya started rubbing their eyes and separating from their snuggling position. They loved one another but they were getting to the stage that they didn't want to show it as much.

"I'm going to get them washed up and then I'll be out to start breakfast if it's not already." I said as Happy pulled on a fresh shirt. He nodded and headed out into the hall, pulling on his boots as he went. Freya hopped up onto the bed and hugged Hope.

"Mama, can we go home today?" Freya asked as Ollie headed into the bathroom. I twisted my mouth and smoothed her bed head. She was perfectly happy coming to the garage or the clubhouse, but not for lockdown. Ollie came out of the bathroom and crawled onto the bed. He opened his mouth and pulled his lips away from his teeth.

"All clean! Can I have a Popsicle?" He asked sweetly. I laughed and kissed his forehead with a shake of my head.

"Maybe later, sweetie. Freya, go brush your teeth and wash your face, please." She grunted unhappily and hopped down off the bed. She was getting irritated and fussy, but I tried to ignore it. It wasn't her fault we were cramped into the clubhouse. There was a soft knock on the door before Ellie cracked it opened and poked her head in.

"Need some help?" She asked, walking in with a grin. She was always helpful with the kids and I looked at her as a younger sister. I nodded and pointed towards the bathroom.

"If you wouldn't mind helping them get ready. I'm going to change her and head out to start breakfast." Ellie shook her head and held out her arms for Hope.

"You may want to hold off on that. I've got her. Lauren and Chibs' daughter are into it out there." I groaned and pulled on a white sundress, twisting my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head. Happy was leaning against the bar with a mug in his hand and a scowl on his face. Lauren looked to be in a heated argument with Chibs and Kerrianne was talking to Jax. Tara offered me a cup of coffee.

"I don't know how much good Chibs did by breaking them up. Apparently Lauren doesn't believe Kerrianne when she said Fiona isn't in the states. Like that's even something to worry about right now." Tara said, shaking her head with a frown. I burnt the tip of my tongue on the coffee and hissed.

"She was never like this with any of her other boyfriends. I don't even know who she is anymore." The confession made me sad and Happy picked up on it instantly. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed the crown of my head.

"You two are precious. Where's breakfast?" Kiara asked as she joined us at the bar. Juice nodded at Happy and went to grab he and Kiara coffee.

"Delayed on account of bullshit." Happy grumbled sorely. Breakfast was the only meal he ever really got a chance to eat with us on a regular basis. He was usually at the shop during lunch and got home too late to make dinner with us.

"I'm going, I'm going." I gave him a wink and headed into the kitchen, pulling Kiara along behind me to help with the large amount of servings I had to tackle. Once we finished a large mountain of pancakes and a boar's worth of bacon, we moved it all out to the bar in a buffet style. Happy helped the kids get their food before getting his own. I could tell he was irritated.

"Meet got moved up." He growled after washing down some bacon with coffee. I frowned and nodded, nothing I could have said would have made it any better. He took the syrup away from Freya and gave her a look. Her plate was a sea of syrup with a submerged pancake island.

"Can we go on a ride today, Daddy?" Ollie asked, pushing his finished plate away. Happy shook his head and tossed his fork down, barely halfway through his food.

"Sorry buddy. I've got to go with Uncle Jax and the others to meet with some people that talk funny." Freya cocked her head and pointed openly over at Chibs.

"Like Chibs and that new girl?" Happy nodded and Freya sighed dramatically. "Can Mayhem take us on a walk while you're gone?"

"Not out of the lot, no. Sorry, mija." He kissed her forehead and ruffled Ollie's hair before coming over to me. I saw the agitation etched all over his face. He kissed Hope quickly, lucky to avoid her sticky kisses.

"You know the deal, Hap. I love you." He nodded and gave me a weak smile before kissing me deeply. Freya and Ollie made "eww" noises.

"I love you, Katerina." He pecked my lips one more time before straightening his kutte and heading out behind Jax and Juice. I hated knowing that things weren't going as planned. The less planned out something was, the greater the chances he wouldn't come home tonight, one way or another.

Gemma, Tara and Lauren cleaned up from breakfast while Kiara and I got the kids started on some board games and activity books. The sweet butts and crow eaters were taking care of the dorms and the prospects that had been left to hold down the fort were just getting in everyone's way.

"Mayhem! I just put this shirt on!" Jacky, a rather tolerable croweater exclaimed. I looked over to see a huge trail of drool on her black shirt. I shook my head and called him over, wiping his jowls off with a rag. He decided to play tug-of-war with the rag and backed right into Kerrianne. She turned around quickly, revealing the tears streaming down her face. I let Mayhem win the war and walked over to the young woman.

"Look, I know we didn't exactly get off to a great start. I'm Katerina, Happy's ol' lady." I offered her my hand and she took it with a hesitant smile.

"You're married to 'im aren't ya?" I nodded and hitched my shoulder. It was pretty interchangeable and I normally used ol' lady any time the club was involved. She wiped her tears off her cheeks with the back of her hand.

"So, what's on your mind?" I asked, bending over and shaking the rag Mayhem was offering me. She sighed and started crying again.

"I don't want ta go back, Katerina. Me mum and Jimmy fight all tha' time and I'm not allowed ta be my own person." My heart went out to the girl. Chibs had told Lauren and I about his daughter and estranged wife when Happy and I first got together. I knew it was a sticky situation and I couldn't help wishing there was something I could do to help the poor girl.

"Yeah, it's not exactly rainbows and sunshine here, but I can see where you're coming from. Why don't you just stay then?" She laughed and shook her head, glancing over at Lauren.

"Even if I could somehow get away from Jimmy, I don't believe I'm too very welcome 'ere either." She had a point, of course. Lauren wasn't the only one who wasn't exactly greeting the girl with open arms. Until Mayhem bumped into her I was all about getting her out of Charming as soon as possible.

"Hopefully you can work something out, doll. I don't want you to go through that, Kerrianne." I gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and looked over at Lauren who was watching us closely. "Here, you can play with him if you like dogs. He's huge but he's a big baby."

"Friends close and enemies closer?" Lauren asked with a raised brow. I grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the clubhouse so the kids wouldn't witness our argument. She shoved me off of her as soon as the door closed.

"What is your bloody problem, Lauren? You were never such a self-conscious bitch before you got with Chibs. Hell, you were better while he was inside." I kept my tone even. I wasn't looking for a fight, to be honest, I just wanted her to realize what she was doing and explain it to me.

"Yeah and you're so damn special, Mrs. Lowman. You've got a husband and three kids that worship your every breath. What would you know about relationship problems?" She spat. I scoffed and shook my head.

"Well, you used to be my best friend, Lauren. If you remember, I've had bad relationships before." It was going on ten years since Declan and I had parted on less than friendly terms. She shook her head and put her back towards me.

"Have you seen or talked to him recently?" I pushed what sliver of guilt I still held on to for killing him aside and shook my head.

"No, not since a couple weeks after I left Stockton." It was the truth. I hadn't seen him since unloading a clip into his chest as he laid in our living room. Lauren turned around with tears in her eyes. "Why does it matter?"

"Ryder," I cut her off with a shake of my head. She swallowed hard and sobbed into her palms. "Please, Kat, I'm not sure. If he finds out he'll leave us."

"That's not my problem anymore. I'll have Lohen draw up the papers to sell my shares of the bar to you or whoever wants my half." I left her standing in the middle of the empty lot and went back into the clubhouse. Kiara looked up at me with concern. I refused her silent questions with a shake of my head.

"Mommy!" Hope yelled from Tara's arms. I smiled and focused on my daughter. My family, both blood and chosen, were dealing with enough without Lauren's shit. The problem would still be there after lockdown and after the Irish were back across the pond. I hugged my youngest to my chest and laughed as she tried to blow a raspberry on my cheek.

**Bombshell (potentially). Read and Review lovelies!**


	5. Guns and Bars

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

My right cheek was tender and swollen from a right hook that caught me off guard. Jax was bleeding into his mouth and spitting out every so often. Neither of us expected the Irish to fight first and talk later. Chibs was grumbling about waiting for the prospect to show up with the van. He was losing blood like crazy out of his side and there was no way he'd make it back on the bike.

"Why didn't we just tell them she came to us? We get our asses jumped for something we didn't even do. Fuck." Juice grumbled with his hand over his brow to try and slow the bleeding. I couldn't say I didn't agree.

"Yeah, well now we've got a refugee and a damn crate of guns headed our way. What the fuck are we supposed to do with that?" I growled, passing Chibs a towel that I kept in my saddlebag for bleeding situations like this. He shook his head and pressed it to his blood soaked side.

"Aye, gotta take it to the table. Guns and Kerrianne." He strained out through groans. The van pulled up and we loaded him up quicker rather than gentler. Jax looked over at me and shook his head as we walked back to the bikes. He knew my stand on anything that carried a risk of going back inside. There was too much attention on the gun trade and I didn't want any part of it.

I showered in the gym and got into bed quickly. I hated sleeping on my left side since it kept my back on Katerina, but with my cheek busted open it's the only way I could sleep. She was sleeping peacefully with Hope in the curve of her body. I stared at the wall for an hour, trying to force myself to sleep before I finally rolled over and suffered through the pain so I could wrap my arm around the woman that kept me sane.

"Daddy! Daddy!" I woke up to Freya pushing my shoulder over and over. Katerina must have slipped out earlier because the room was empty except my persistent daughter. She shoved a bandage in my face and then curled up with her back against my chest. I smiled at the bandage that came out of her own princess bandage collection. I closed my eyes and went back to sleep with my little girl.

My phone started vibrating on the nightstand and I rolled over with a growl. Freya was still sleeping and had latched on to my left arm. She grumbled as I spoke on the phone.

"Yeah, give me a few minutes, Jax." I ended the call and tickled Freya awake. She was giggling and jumping about. I laughed and picked her up, holding her upside down by her feet. She laughed loudly as Katerina opened the door, wide eyed and ready to fuss. She laughed and shook her head.

"Mommy! Be on my side!" Freya exclaimed loudly. I laughed and flipped her over, setting her down on her feet. Her face was red and I thought her smile might stretch her cheeks. Katerina let her slip out into the hall before giving me a hug. I kissed her lips and smiled at how she tasted like strawberries.

"We've got church. See if Kiara can watch the offspring when we get done. I need my wife." I smacked her ass playfully as we walked out towards the bar. She looked back at me and narrowed her eyes.

"I need my husband to come home in one piece." I nodded and kissed her cheek as I turned towards the chapel. I took my seat and leaned forward, ready to get the voting over and move on to routine business. I'd always be an enforcer and I was proud of being Jax's SAA but I enjoyed the lulls just as much as anyone else.

"What are we doing about the kid?" Tig asked, starting it off. Jax looked over at Chibs who was still pretty pale and weak looking from last night's fun. He sat up straight and grimaced.

"She wants ta get outta Jimmy's hold. Doesn't want nuthin to do with 'em. She's told me she and Katerina are thinking of some plan. Something about Sunshine Bay, I dunno." I immediately knew what he was talking about although it was news to me that they were even on speaking terms. I nodded but didn't feel the need to elaborate yet.

"Right now we can't bank on that plan. Do we help her or send her back and hope they cut us some slack? All for helping the kid?" Jax didn't close his mouth before Chibs gave a yay vote. Quinn nodded.

"No way I can turn my back on a woman in need. Yay." Chibs nodded and the vote continued around the table. I gave a short nod and Jax slammed the gavel on the stand. It was decided, we were helping Kerrianne, damn the consequences. My fist tightened as the subject turned to guns.

"I need to talk to you." I growled, motioning towards the dorm. Katerina picked up on my mood and headed down the hall. I threw the door closed and tried to calm myself. She was standing a couple feet away with her arms at her sides.

"When were you going to ask me about the rental place, Katerina? You can't just offer it up as a fucking safe house without talking to me first." She folded her arms over her chest and her eyes narrowed.

"I would have brought it to you if it was anything but an idea at this point. You have no right to tell me I can't help the girl." She was working hard on keeping the snap at of her voice, but it barely made a difference.

"That crow on your collarbone and that ring on your finger says otherwise, Kat. That girl has a whole criminal organization wanting to drag her ass back to Ireland. You want to drag our kids into that shit?" I took a step towards her and she stood her ground.

"The kids aren't any part of it, Happy. It's a house in another country. What are you actually pissed off about because it better not be this." She looked up and bore into me with her bright blue eyes. I looked away and yanked the door open.

"That's it." I growled. She made a primal, frustrated noise and shoved my back. I spun around and glared at her. She was all of 5'4" but she wasn't about to let my size intimidate her. I walked back into the room and slammed the door.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Happy. Tell me or fuck me. Either way you don't fucking walk away angry." She pulled at the front of my kutte and I pushed her hair back roughly. I shook my head and kissed her. It was hard and possessive at first, but then I found myself relaxing.

I ran my fingers over the red marks on her arms and frowned. She caught my hand and moved it away from the damage I'd caused. Katerina kissed my fingertips and laced her fingers in with mine.

"Stop looking at me like that, Happy. They'll go away in a few minutes. Are you going to tell me what really pissed you off?" Her smooth skin felt like silk against my chest after she rolled over and half laid on me. I shook my head and grabbed a joint off the side table.

"Shit with the Irish didn't go too well yesterday. Ended up with a case of AK-47's in our lap and a bill coming due for them." I lit the joint and took a long hit. Katerina frowned and pushed herself up a little.

"So, what are you doing about it? Hap, no. I thought the club was out of that shit." She didn't have to hear my answer to know enough to object. I almost wish I hadn't told her. If we had any luck, we could figure out a way to get rid of the twelve rifles we got stuck with and then get the Irish off our backs. That was the problem though; we didn't have a great track record with luck.

"It's not my call, Kat. I'm just trying to keep us with as few extra holes as possible." She scoffed and moved out of the bed quickly. She pulled her shorts on and glared at me as I took another hit.

"What did you vote, Happy?" The question irritated me, even through the high I was starting to get. I blew the smoke out through my nose like a dragon and shook my head.

"It doesn't matter, Katerina. We vote and majority rules. You know damn well I don't want any part of this shit." She hurled my shirt at me and slipped her bra on.

"Then don't be, Happy. I'm not fucking raising the kids alone again. They don't deserve this." I pulled my shirt on and shook my head, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back over to me.

"Nothing has even happened, Katerina. Don't use them against me. Everything I do is for you and those kids. I told you. I'm not going back in." I let her yank her arm away and shove my chest. She shoved me again before rearing back and slapping me hard across the face. I shook the sting out and grabbed her shoulders, she tried to resist but finally fell into my chest.

"I love you, Happy. Prison isn't what scares me, baby. I'm worried about what happens when you don't come home to us one day." I shook my head and kissed the top of her head as she cried into my shirt. Her whole body was trembling with her sobs.

"Kat, look at me." I took her hand and pushed my shirt up, putting her palm directly on the ink on my left ribcage. She brought her eyes up to look into mine and nodded. "That hasn't changed, Kat. I swear to always be here for you and protect you. That goes for the kids now to. You're not getting rid of me that easily." I kissed her forehead hugged her to me tightly.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

Lockdown finally ended Friday morning and we all got to go home. Happy had been out on the road with Jax and Chibs for the past two days and I had been busy with Lohen and the kids. Lauren hadn't taken my threat seriously and almost seemed surprised as I walked into the bar on Sunday morning with a packet of legal documents.

"K, you don't have to do this. We've been doing well. Why are we fighting over something that happened so long ago?" She didn't take the envelope I offered to her, so I tossed it on the desk between us.

"No, Lauren. The bar has been doing well, not us. Tell me one thing. Did you get with Declan before or after I called off the wedding?" Lauren looked away and fiddled with the crystal pendant on her necklace. I waited impatiently.

"It was a mistake, Katerina. We both had too much to drink at his birthday party. He gave me a ride home after you got called into work. I guess we started talking and then it just ended up happening." I shook my head and laughed with disgust.

"That was right after I started at Stockton. You stupid bitch. Even after he attacked me in the apartment and you getting together with Chibs, you still hooked up with that piece of shit? How sure are you that Ryder is Chibs'?" I didn't realize I was yelling until I was done. Luckily, the kids were with Ellie and Tara at the park while I took care of errands.

"I'm sorry, Kat. I never meant for it to happen. I have no real way of knowing if Ryder is Declan's or Chibs'." I resisted the urge to slap her across the face. I pointed at the envelope on the desk and adjusted my purse.

"There are dissolution of partnership and a buyout agreement in there. You can keep the one in Oakland but I'm buying your shares of this location. I also suggest you get a paternity test and come clean with Chibs. He has the right to know if your kid isn't his." I turned to leave and opened the door before I felt her hand on my elbow.

"What can I do to fix this?" Lauren asked with a sob. I shook my head and stepped away from her.

"You aren't Marty McFly and I don't see a Delorean around for you to use. What's done is done, Lauren. What you do next is what counts." I walked away and got out of the bar as soon as possible. I sank down into the safety of my 350z. It was well over ten years old now, but it still ran like the first day I drove it off the lot. It was rare that I got to drive it anymore, so I took full advantage of my time behind the wheel.

The blue lights behind me just added to the shitty day I was having. I looked at the patrol car through the rearview mirror before pulling over onto the shoulder. I had made the foolish decision to take the long way back to town and managed to get pulled over by the Sheriff's right before I made it back to Charming's borders.

"Do you know why I pulled you over, ma'am?" I played dumb and shook my head with a shy smile. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on my car and chewing his gum obnoxiously. I offered him my license and papers, but he still leaned into the car after taking them.

"Do you need something else?" I asked, dropping the sweetness down a little. He smirked and pulled his sunglasses down.

"Tell me why beautiful women like yourself go for the criminals. Is it the freedom you get when they're locked up?" I narrowed my eyes at him and wished I hadn't worn a strapless top. He was eyeing my chest and I felt the blood rising up in my cheeks.

"Just give me a ticket and leave me alone, Sheriff." He laughed and patted my car door before disappearing to his patrol car. I slammed the back of my head into the headrest and hoped I could get out of the confrontation without any further drama.

I heard the unmistakable sound of motorcycles approaching and groaned. It was either the club or the Mayans. Either way, they would stop and check on me. We were on good terms with the Mayans and I had even become friends with Marcus' wife. Unfortunately, it was SAMCRO.

Jax gave Happy a nod and he took off his helmet before walking over to the passenger side of the car. I rolled the window down and gave him a smile. He looked back at the patrol car and then to me again.

"You good, Kat?" He didn't hide his distrust for the officer. I looked in the side mirror and saw the officer opening his car door. Happy tensed and I could tell he was ready for a fight.

"Hap, I'm fine. I'll follow you all home. Don't start anything with him, baby." He just grunted and stood up straight. My car was lowered so all I could see from my vantage point was his hand readily placed near the ka-bar on his belt.

"Sign here, Miss. You were going twenty over. Court date is the first Monday of the month. I don't suggest bringing your husband along." The officer took his citation book back and gave me my copy of the ticket and my license and papers. From what I could see, it seemed like he and Happy were having a stare down over the roof of my car. Jax eventually revved his bike to get Happy back on the road.

"See you around, Katerina." The officer gave me a wink and headed back to his patrol car once Happy sat down on his bike. I felt the bile rise in my throat as I shifted into first and followed the guys back into Charming.


	6. Sunday Dinner

"Freya, quit kicking the back of the seat, honey." She sighed and the thumping stopped. Happy looked back at her from the drivers seat and shook his head.

"Watch the attitude, mija." He was still tired from the road and his voice was a little rougher than I thought he meant for it to be. Freya didn't say anything or make any noises. Ollie looked at me for a minute and frowned.

"Are you getting divorced?" Freya asked after Ollie finished whispering in her ear. Happy hit the breaks and put the Armada off onto the shoulder. He slammed it in park and turned around in the seat to look at her.

"Where did you even hear that word?" I asked, unbuckling and turning back to look at she and Ollie. She shook her head and kept her mouth shut.

"Freya, spit it out. That's not something you should even know the meaning of." Happy tried to keep as much of his anger out of his voice as possible. I looked at Ollie who was looking anywhere but at Happy or I.

"Ollie, who did you hear that from? Who said we were getting divorced, baby?" He looked at his father and then over at Freya. I put my hand on Happy's arm to calm him down.

"Ms. Tandy was telling Ms. Jacky you should. What does it mean, Daddy?" Ollie looked into Happy's eyes and I felt him relax under my hand. He reached back and ruffled his dark brown hair.

"Divorce is when people don't love each other anymore and live in other places. I love your Ma too much to ever hear you say that word again. Okay?" Ollie and Freya both nodded their heads and Hope copied them. Happy nodded and turned back to face the road. He took my hand into his and rubbed his thumb over my skin. It broke my heart to think about the kids even thinking about that. I knew I'd have to fight Happy on kicking that bitch's ass before he got to her.

As luck would have it, Tandy was in the kitchen helping Gemma when we walked into Jax's childhood home. Thomas ran up to Ollie and begged me to let them all go play outside. I nodded and let go of his hand while Happy put Freya off of his shoulders. Hope reached for Kiara as soon as she walked into the living room.

"Why do ya have that same look ya did when Tommy Quinn pushed me down the stairs in primary school? Wha happened?" Kiara looked from me to Happy who looked pissed off now that the kids were outside. I kissed Hopes palms that she was waving at me before following Happy towards the kitchen.

"Happy, Sunday dinner isn't exactly the best time to do this. I know you're pissed, baby. I am to but this is our first dinner with everyone back." He kept his face expressionless but pulled me into his arms. I tugged on his necklace, causing him to bend his neck down towards me. He caught on to what I wanted and moved a hand to the back of my neck while his other hand slid down to my lower back. He kissed me deeply and slid his tongue into my mouth, taking full possession.

"You need a room?" Gemma asked with a laugh. I pulled my mouth away from him slowly and reluctantly. His eyes looked like they had fire behind them and I could tell he was as worked up as I was. The plan had been to show a little PDA but it ended up working too well. I kissed him quickly before turning to Gemma.

"No, but I could use a night alone with my husband if you want to babysit tonight. I know they have stuff here." Gemma looked from me to Happy and nodded with a laugh. I smiled and mouthed a silent thank you as Happy smirked and kissed me again before grabbing a beer from Juice.

"Hey! Look what the cat dragged in!" I gave Kerrianne a wink as she walked in with Chibs. She was wearing a cream colored sundress and some scrappy brown sandals. She looked more comfortable than the last time I saw her. She smiled and gave me a friendly hug.

"I love this dress, Katerina. You have not had three kids." I laughed and nodded, feeling good about her compliment. I was wearing a black dress with white inlays on the sides to accentuate my figure. I worked hard to get back in shape after having Hope and appreciated her taking notice. Happy complimented me frequently, but it was nice to hear from others from time to time.

"Keeping up with them does wonders for your metabolism." I heard a giggle from behind me and tried to ignore her. Kerrianne shot the source of the giggling a look before following me over to Kiara and Tara. Ellie was holding Hope and making silly faces at her.

No one asked where Lauren was, even though everyone noticed her and Ryder's absence. Dinner was fairly pleasant, even with Tig and Kozik bringing up old feuds. It was just nice to have everyone back around the table. Jax cleared his throat once we started cleaning up after dinner.

"Ladies, I just wanted to thank you for taking care of the families and the clubhouse while we were inside. I know it's not easy with the kids and trying to make ends meet. Without all of you, I don't know how we would even manage some days. Anyways, thanks." The men erupted in woops and pounded their fists on the table. I did a mock curtsy before disappearing into the kitchen with an arm full of dirty plates.

"That was so sweet of Jax to thank us." It was all I could do to not drop all of the plates on the floor. I handed them off to Ellie and walked up on Tandy. She was smiling and fluttered her eyelashes at me.

"Us? Really? What have you done to contribute to the club? Suck some dick?" I heard Ellie giggle and shot her a quick look. Tandy pulled out her innocent card out and shook her head.

"Oh, sweetheart, I didn't mean to upset you." Her denial sent me over the edge. I grabbed her by her throat and slammed her into the refrigerator. She clawed at my wrist, fighting to make me let her go.

"Did you mean to upset my son when you ran your damn mouth about Happy and I? You think it's sweet to mention divorce around a toddler? You fucking idiot." I tightened my grip and Gemma was pulling at my shoulder.

"Happy! Would you do something besides stand there?" Gemma begged as I slammed my fist against Tandy's nose. Happy laughed and I caught him shake his head out of the corner of my eye.

"Nope." He said flatly. Gemma scoffed and sent Tig to Tandy's rescue. He was watching Happy carefully as he pulled me off the sad excuse for a woman. There was no doubt Happy would jump on Tig if he handled me too roughly.

"Mommy? Are you okay?" Ollie was looking at the blood on my wrist from the scratches Tandy's nails had left. I nodded and gave him a little smile. He scowled and didn't seem to believe me until Happy nodded.

"She's fine, buddy." Ollie considered it for a minute before nodding and crawling into my lap as I sat down on the couch. Freya and Thomas walked inside and looked at Happy and I suspiciously. Happy scooped her up and held her upside down, causing her to giggle loudly.

"I'm sorry." I told Happy as we got in the Armada. Ollie wasn't thrilled about staying with Gemma after the fight, but Freya helped convince him that it was okay. Hope was already asleep by the time we left. Happy looked over at me as he pulled out onto the road.

"You kidding me right now? There's nothing to apologize for, Katerina. I don't know if we can make it home." I raised my brow and twisted my mouth. He strummed his thumbs on the steering wheel and ran his tongue over his lips. He shook his head and pulled the suv off the road suddenly, slamming on the breaks and throwing his seatbelt off. I didn't have a chance to ask what he was doing before he was out of the vehicle. He yanked my door open and undid my seatbelt.

"Happy, what are you," his lips crashed into mine and cut off any question I could have asked with an obvious answer. He pushed my dress up and over my hips and pulled me out of the car. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my tongue with his. He growled and moved us back enough to close the door and the slam my back against it. It was just hard enough to surprise me and he took care not to hurt me.

"We never got to fuck on the side of the road like we talked about. Plus it's fucking hot when you're pissed off." He explained between biting and kissing my neck and chest. He let my heels slide down to the gravel as he undid his belt. I took over for him and he used his now free hand to push my thong aside and slide his fingers inside of me. I moaned and kissed him even deeper.

"Happy, oh god baby." His teeth were on my neck as he entered me quickly. I felt like I couldn't touch him enough. I had my hands moving from the back of his head to his arms and his stomach as he fucked me against the side of the car. His eyes were almost coal black as he jerked away and spun me around putting my hands against the car and pulling my hips back towards him. I felt cold metal on my hip and looked back at him as he threw the remains of my ruined thing away and put his knife back in the sheath.

"Fucking hell, Katerina. Stay like that." He put his hand on my lower back to keep me in place as he took his personal phone out and took several pictures. I rolled my eyes and looked back at him. He smirked and took another picture before pulling out and picking me up. He opened the car door and put me down in the seat, pulling my legs up on his shoulders. His tongue flicked over my clit a few times before he sucked at me hard. I came uncontrollably.

"Come here. We need to get home." He was pulling me towards the edge of the seat, but I shook my head with a smirk. He kept his hands on me but loosened his grip enough to let me flip over and back myself on to him. He growled as I rocked my hips back and forth in long, slow motions. He grabbed a hand full of my hair and pulled my head back as he came.

"Kat?" Happy said softly as he held me in his arms. We'd come home and continued our sexcapades for a couple hours before we were both too tired to continue on. I looked back at him and gave him a small smile. "I would leave the club if you wanted me to."

"I could never want you to, Happy. I know how much you love them. They're family to me now to. Just get this Irish shit taken care of." I said, rolling over to face him. He smiled and nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He growled, pulling me up towards him and sliding the head of his cock between my folds. Somehow, my body was still ready for him. I knew there was no chance of walking straight tomorrow.

**Sorry this is a little short. I'm working through some creative issues with this story :)**


	7. Irish

SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA

It felt strange to wake up and have Katerina to myself. Normally, she would either be getting the kids up or cleaning. This morning though, she was still asleep in my arms. I loved the way her body felt against my chest and the warmth she put off. I kissed her neck softly, not intending to wake her up but just wanting to feel her skin on my lips. She moaned softly and moved closer to me.

"Good morning, Katerina Lowman." I whispered into her ear, gently taking her ear lobe between my teeth. She smiled and rolled over to face me. She had a hazy, lazy look in her eyes that made me smile back.

"Good morning, Happy Lowman." She pressed a kiss to my lips and I pulled her closer to me with my hand on her lower back. "Remember asking me about having another kid in a few years?"

"Yeah, I meant it." She smiled and kissed me again, tracing her nails over my scalp.I pushed her hair out of her face and looked into her light eyes.

"What if we tried now, baby? We could wait and start all over or we could just do it now and in a few years we could have them all out of diapers and have us time." She pulled her bottom lip in and looked at me shyly. I smirked and pulled my hand around from her lower back to her breasts, kneading it gently as I snaked a leg over her and pulled her on top of me as I turned onto my back.

"Hold that thought, babe." I reached back and grabbed my burner that was vibrating over and over again. She gave me a devilish grin and started trailing kisses down my stomach and to my twitching cock. "What?"

"Hey, brother. We need your expertise." I could tell it was Juice but I couldn't tell you a damn thing he said. Katerina was doing a hell of a job distracting me with her mouth and tongue working at my arousal. I damn near bit through my lip to keep the groan out of my voice.

"What?" I tangled my free hand into Katerina's blonde hair and closed my eyes. Maybe if I couldn't see her I could hear Juice.

"You busy man? Shit, sorry. Jax needs you down here at Diosa." I rolled my closed eyes and grunted in acknowledgement before ending the call. Katerina sucked me dry and kissed my smiley tattoos before slipping out of bed and grabbing me a shirt and pair of jeans. She leaned over and kissed me as she shoved some underwear and the clothes onto my chest.

"Not gonna get anything done like that, babe." She raised a brow at me before walking into the bathroom and starting the shower. She reappeared with a smirk.

"Are you complaining about a blow job?" I shook my head as I stepped into my jeans. She nodded and wrapped her arms around my neck, teasing me with her naked body pressing into me.

"Never complain about your handy work, darlin'. Just stating the facts." I kissed her and argued with myself about putting off Diosa and fucking my wife.

"I'm well aware where babies come from, Hap. We've had three." She giggled and I snapped my teeth less than an inch away from her nose.

"Smartass. Be good. I'm hoping this shit doesn't take that long so I can thank you before Gemma sends the kids home." She nodded and waved my comment off with a laugh.

"Sons of Anarchy and their promises." I didn't have a valid argument for that so I just followed her and gave her a kiss. "Be careful, Hap."

"I swear, Kat. Love you." She nodded and said it back before stepping into the shower. My dick twitched, wishing I could stay in there with her. Instead, I grabbed my kutte off the hook by the front door and pet Mayhem before heading out, taking care to lock up behind me.

"What have we got?" I asked Jax as I walked inside the innocent looking building. From the outside, you'd be hard pressed to tell it was a whore house. He stood up from the bar and nodded back towards the kitchen. I let out a low whistle at the bloodied man sitting on the floor, tied securely to a steel support beam.

"Chibs and I tried to politely ask him where Jimmy slipped off to but he didn't feel like talking. Thought he might like you better." I smirked and nodded. My goal was clear and information gathering was particularly fun, especially when it was the hard way.

My white undershirt was speckled with blood and I could see muscle and bone where he'd decided not to answer my questions. Wine openers turned out to be an entertaining tool, but he still wasn't talking.

"Have ya had time ta talk to ya Ma about this, Jackson? I'm sure she knows right where Jimmy is." I drew my Glock and slammed the end of the barrel into his forehead. He laughed and shrugged. "Shoot me, boy. I told ya what ya wanted to know."

"Hap, don't. We may still need him, brother." Chibs was keeping a safe distance from me as my veins started bulging. Jax was by my side, gripping his phone tightly as he waited for someone to answer.

"What the fuck have you done? Where's Gemma?" Jax asked, looking over at me with a head shake. I narrowed my eyes and started glancing back and forth from him to the Irish prick at the end of my arm.

"They don't have anything to do with this. I told you we put it through. You'll get your money by the 15th. You don't want to do anything stupid. It's not some IRA king you'll have to worry about. Damnit, Jimmy!" Jax kicked a prep table over and looked at Chibs.

"Quinn, Kozik and Rat are headed over there already brother. Wha's going on?" Jax looked at me before he answered.

"Jimmy took my Mom and Hope." I dropped the barrel from the man's head and shot him in the stomach. The shot was deafening and so were his screams. I caught his throat in my hand and squeezed.

"You can tell me where that Irish son of a bitch took my daughter or you can die in thirty seconds. Your call." He shook his head and tried to scramble away but I just tightened my hold.

"Ay, I didn't know, brotha! Jimmy doesn't tell me where the safe houses are!" I popped another round in his stomach.

"He won't die for twenty minutes." I said, wiping my hands off on a kitchen rag. Jax looked from me to the man and swallowed hard. "My daughter is with that son of a bitch and I don't know where my other two kids are. You wanna make some executive decisions or do I need to go out on my own on this?"

"Quinn just called. Freya and Ollie are at Gemma's. Tara and Katerina are headed over there now." I narrowed my eyes at Chibs and holstered my Glock.

"Why is Tara going over there? What's wrong with them?" Chibs put a hand on my chest to slow me down. I glanced at his hand. "Don't push me, brother. I will go through you for those kids."

He dropped his hand and I all but ran out to my bike. The only thing on my mind was my kids and Katerina. I didn't consider the club or the leather on my back. I thought about the fear in Freya's eyes and the promise that I'd made to them all. I was supposed to keep them safe. Jimmy was going to be my kill. That wasn't going to the table. He was mine.

"Kat!" I jumped off my bike and caught her in my arms. She was sobbing and shaking her head. Her 350z was pulled up on the curb with the bumper half off. I knew she had chosen speed over safety, just like I did dodging cars as I ran stop lights.

"Hap, where's our baby? Please, Happy." She shook her head and cried loudly as I held her so tight I wondered if she'd break. Ollie was in Tara's arms and Freya was holding her free hand tightly.

"What happened?" I looked to Freya since Ollie was hiding his face in Tara's hair. She started crying and flung her arms around my leg. Katerina took a step back to let me pick Freya up. I got enough out of her barely intelligible crying to know that she had tried to get Ollie to hide like Gemma told them to. I noticed Ollie still wouldn't turn around.

"Ollie, look at me." I tugged on his shirt sleeve and spoke as calmly as I could. "Come on, little man."

Oliver finally turned around and I saw his busted lip. Katerina looked at me and I could see the fear in her eyes. I kissed Freya's head and put her down, nudging her towards Katerina.

"You try to stop him, buddy?" He nodded and I could see tears forming in his dark eyes. I nodded and kissed his forehead. "I love you, Ollie. You and Freya did good, okay? Be good for your Ma while I go get Hope."

"I love you, daddy." I set my mouth to keep from cracking as I turned to Katerina. She searched my eyes with her own and nodded.

"Go get our baby, Hap. You bring both of you back home safe." I kissed her and turned to get on my bike. Katerina caught my arm and I looked back at her. "Hap, both of you. I can't do this without you."

"I swear, Kat." I kissed her one more time. She dried her tears and put on a brave face. It wasn't fooling me but I appreciated her attempt.

SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA

I had Freya, Ollie and Mayhem piled up in our king sized bed with me. Freya had fallen asleep and Ollie had gone silent. I had my phone right by my side hoping and dreading for it to ring. I smoothed Ollie's hair as he rested his head on Mayhem's stomach. It was too quiet in the house, but I couldn't risk waking Freya up just to fill the silence with a tv show I wouldn't watch.

Happy and the rest of the club had been doing God knows what for the past twelve hours, fighting to get Gemma and Hope back. He didn't send me updates and I didn't want to know, not until it was over. Tara had left a couple hours ago after a futile attempt to get us to eat. Even Mayhem pushed his food around half heartedly.

The hours drug by and I just stared into nothingness. Ollie fell asleep eventually and Mayhem would nap for a few minutes at a time. I couldn't sleep. I knew that if I did I would have nightmares. What's worse, I feared that my nightmare would become reality. I saw lights coming through the window and carefully made my way out of bed. I my left hand up towards Mayhem, silently commanding him to stay in the bed. I grabbed my gun out of my nightstand with my right hand and headed to the door.

"Where is he, Jax. Where is my fucking husband." I backed away from him as he walked up to the porch. Tara was behind him with Hope in her arms. I took my baby into my arms and shook my head. Jax frowned.

"He's at Saint Thomas, Kat. He took a couple of rounds to the chest. He's critical but they're optimistic." Tara's words were accompanied by a loud buzzing in my ears. I could feel my heart beating against my chest and struggled to breathe.

"No. He swore he'd come back. No." I choked, hoping my denial would change their story. Tara frowned and I could see tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I can take you to see him, Kat. Tara can stay here with the kids." I bit my lip and shook my head, looking down at Hope. "Katerina, Jimmy isn't a threat anymore. Happy took care of it. Quinn and Rat will stay here. Kiara is already on her way back from LA and Juice is waiting at the airport for her." I completely forgot about Kiara going to Los Angeles for some modeling audition. I nodded and reluctantly passed Hope back to Tara. Looking at her now, you would never know she had been missing from her family for almost 24 hours. I hated leaving them behind, but they didn't need to see Happy like this. I didn't need to but I had to.

Jax rode in front of me as I drove Happy's Ford Raptor. It made me feel tiny but it was his and it smelled like him. I needed everything I could get to make it through this. I started bargaining with every god I'd ever heard of. All I wanted was Happy to be okay. I had no doubt that I couldn't make it without him.


	8. Where is his stuff?

Jax rode in front of me as I drove Happy's Ford Raptor. It made me feel tiny but it was his and it smelled like him. I needed everything I could get to make it through this. I started bargaining with every god I'd ever heard of. All I wanted was Happy to be okay. I had no doubt that I couldn't make it without him.. The room felt cold and sterile as I walked inside. Happy had an IV in each arm and an oxygen mask over his mouth, but at least he was breathing on his own. Had they put a tube down his throat, I don't think I could have handled it. Jax had has arm across my shoulders, half hugging me and half holding me up.

He looked to pale. He didn't have that kissed by the sun, hispanic glow to him that I was so used to. His ink seemed to stand out even more against his skin. I looked over his hands and noticed they were bare, except the tattoo around his left ring finger. I shook my head and stepped away from Jax.

"Where's his stuff?" I growled, leaning over the nurse's station. A plump, older woman with more gray than brown in her hair narrowed her eyes at me. She folded her arms across her chest and stood up.

"You shouldn't be back here, ma'am. Family only." I lunged forward, but Jax caught my arm. The woman's brow shot up, evidently not expecting me to lash out.

"What the fuck did you just say to me? That's my husband and the father of our three kids. Get his stuff. Right fucking now." I lunged again, almost slipping out of Jax's grip. The nurse picked up the phone on her desk and I threw an elbow back into Jax's chest, breaking loose just long enough to grab the phone cord and rip it out of the wall.

"Mrs. Lowman! Just the woman I was looking for." I spun around to see the sheriff that had pulled me over. Jax stepped in front of me and shook his head.

"Leave her alone, Michaelson. She doesn't know anything." Jax snapped as the sheriff smirked. I turned and looked at the nurse.

"You have three minutes to get all of his stuff. I'm not above beating your ass in front of a cop." She gaped at me for a moment before rushing off. Jax rubbed his eyes and shook his head slowly. I shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest.

"No, I don't know where he was when whatever happened. No, I don't know what happened. No, I don't know anyone that would want to hurt him and no, I don't want your card so I can give you a call if I remember anything." I spurted off at the sheriff before storming back into Happy's room. I heard Jax move to block Sheriff Michaelson from trying to get into the room.

"You promised, Hap. I said both of you had to come home safe. You don't get to leave me like this. You asshole. I haven't loved you for seven years for it to end like this." I took his hand in mine and rested my forehead on his arm. He wasn't exactly cold, but he wasn't nearly as warm as he usually was. I bit my lip so hard it was painful, but it kept the tears at bay.

"K? The nurse 'anded me this an' told me ta bring it to ya." I looked over and saw Kiara holding a large plastic bag. I nodded and took it, digging around for his reaper ring and his wedding ring. I found both and slid them in to place. Kiara caught me in a hug as I moved to sit back down.

"Kiara, I can't lose him. He has too much of my heart for me to let go." I lost the battle that was raging in my chest and the tears burst from my eyes. She pulled me closer and followed me as I sank down onto my knees. I buried my face in her neck, sobbing and shaking my head.

An hour or two later, Juice walked in and offered to get us food. Kiara shook her head for both of us and smoothed my hair. He hesitated on his way out and turned back to us.

"He's the toughest, meanest asshole I know, Katerina. Two bullets might slow him down for a couple days but he's too mean to die. He's still got boyfriends to scare off when the girls get older." Juice gave me a small smile and I couldn't resist a chuckle. Happy would be furious if he didn't get to scare future boyfriends. I would hate him if he wasn't there for that.

"Go home, Kiara. You need to rest and get something to eat." I gave her a tight smile and nodded as she shook her head. "It's easier to get pregnant if you're healthy."

"We'll be at the clubhouse. It's closer. Call us if you need anything. Jax is bringing Kozik and Tig over so he can get some sleep." Juice said after giving me a quick hug. I nodded, only half listening. They turned the lights out as they left. I settled back into the most comfortable position I could in the chair by the bed, never letting go of his hand as I dozed off.

"You look like shit." I woke up with a jolt and jumped back from Tig. He took a step back. "Didn't mean to scare you, sweetheart. I bring gifts."

"Sorry, Tig." I mumbled, taking the coffee cup from him and sitting up straight. The sun pouring into the room seemed to taunt me. It was too beautiful outside for a day like this. Tig picked up a chair and brought it over to sit next to me.

"You know, before you walked into that unit, I thought the Killah was never going to settle down. I thought he'd fuck his way through every sweetbutt and croweater that showed up and he'd go out in a blaze of glory. Kozik and I joked that his tombstone would have tally marks for how many bitches he fucked and then how many bastards he killed." I looked over at Tig, silently wondering why he was telling me about all the pussy my husband used to get.

"That all changed when he met you though. That asshole changed the minute he saw you. Trust me, I was stuck in a ten by twelve with him for over a year. I remember a phone call he had with his Ma before that first Christmas. He'd borrowed the burner and called her when he thought I was asleep. He didn't even sound like the cold blooded killer I'd known for years. He told his Ma that she could finally stop asking him to settle down because as soon as he got out he was going to do right by you. She must have asked him about grandkids because I remember him saying he didn't want to share you with any kids. Then, he said if they were anything like you he guessed he might share if that's what you wanted. That conversation had him talking more than he'd talked to some people in a year's time." I smiled at the story and looked over at my husband as Tig continued.

"I thought I'd seen it all until the night you were taken away from him. There was a minute between him finding out what happened and him turning into the killer I'd met back in Tacoma. In that minute, I realized the club didn't come first anymore. When the flash of doubt hit him, I didn't see a killer anymore. I saw a man that was watching his life end in front of his eyes. It was the saddest and scariest thing I'd ever seen, especially from him. When he came out of it and his face stoned up again, I was terrified of him, Katerina. I'll never admit that to him or anyone again but I was. I knew that if I didn't get out of his way fast enough, I was just going to be a bloody road bump in his path to get to you." Tig looked over at Happy and I followed his gaze, wishing he would just wake up. Tig shook his head and put a hand on my knee.

"He loves you too damn much to dip out, Kat. The grim reaper would be too afraid to come between the two of you." He squeezed my knee and I nodded slowly, closing my eyes and hoping he was right.

"Hands off, asshole." My eyes shot up at the gravelly voice coming from the hospital bed in front of me. Tig jerked his hand back and I nearly threw the coffee onto the table as I moved to his side. He tried to smile, but it looked more like a pained grimace.

"Happy," I couldn't find the words to express how relieved I was to see his dark eyes looking at me. The corner of his mouth twitched up and he slowly wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me down towards him. His lips were dry and chapped, but they were still his and I felt life flowing back into me as he kissed me.

"I'm sorry, Katerina. I love you, baby." He stuggled to speak and I shook my head, kissing him again. I could feel his tears on my skin and I heard Tig moving out of the room to give us some privacy.

"Don't, Hap. You don't have to say sorry." I kissed him hard enough for him to know I meant it but soft enough to avoid hurting him. He nuzzled my neck and I heard him inhale deeply.

"There was a minute there that I didn't think I'd get to smell your hair or touch you again." I nodded and caressed his cheek. I heard the door open and looked back to see a man in scrubs accompanying the older woman I had lashed out at.

"Mr. Lowman, how are you feeling?" The man who I assumed was a doctor asked. Happy held my hand to keep me from going to far and grunted.

"I've been worse. When am I getting out of here?" Happy loathed hospitals and he was a worse patient than he was visitor from what I'd heard. I smirked at him and looked over at the doctor.

"Mr. Lowman, you're lucky to be alive and you lost a fair amount of blood. The surgery went well; we were able to remove one bullet and the other was through and through. Lucky for you it seems whoever you have a problem with is a bad shot or you're just lucky." The doctor said with a stern expression. I twisted my mouth.

"So tomorrow, day after or what?" Happy growled, ignoring his prognosis. The doctor sighed and the nurse pursed her lips.

"You will be here for at least a week." Happy moved to sit up and groaned loudly. I shook my head, resting my hand on his shoulder to let him know I wanted him to stay down without ordering him around. There was a fine line between letting him know what I wanted and bossing him around.

"Like hell I will. Get out." The doctor turned to leave but the nurse stood her ground. Happy narrowed his eyes. "Out."

"You two need to realize that you get more with honey than vinegar." She smarted off and it rubbed me wrong.

"You know what? I almost lost my husband and my three kids almost lost their father today. So maybe, just maybe, you need to realize that my nerves are shot and I don't have the patience to deal with shit from you or anybody else." Happy smiled and rubbed my lower back. The older woman's hardened stare seemed to soften a little as she looked at us. I turned my back on her and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I will bring you a pillow, Mrs. Lowman. You seem tired." I nodded but kept my eyes on Happy, memorizing every line on his face including his dimples when he smiled.

SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA

Every part of my body hurt but it didn't come close to the pain I felt for putting Katerina and the kids through this shit. I'd been in the hospital for three days and was about to sign myself out. I hated feeling so weak and I hated not being home with my family.

"Daddy!" Freya ran to my bed and climbed up at the foot of the bed. I smiled and braced for the pain of her weight on my chest. Katerina walked in with Ollie in front of her and Hope working out the walking thing by her side.

"Hey mija. Come here, Ollie." He looked at me for a minute before walking to the side of the bed. Katerina told me he blamed himself for what happened. That shit pissed me off. He was too damn young for guilt.

"Kat, will you grab me and Ollie some jello or something?" I looked up at her and knew she was on the same page. She nodded and held her hand out.

"Come on Freya, you can help me and Hope pick colors." Freya popped a big kiss on my cheek before hopping down and taking Kat's hand. I waited until she had closed the door to talk to Ollie.

"Oliver, nothing that happened is on you. You hear me? You did everything you could and more than you should have. I love you, Ollie." He bit his lip and came closer to me, struggling to get up on the bed. I ignored my doctors orders and picked him up, despite the searing pain it put in my chest.

"Come home, daddy. Mommy cries at night and won't let me sleep in my big boy bed." I closed my eyes, taking that hit to my heart and nodded, kissing the top of his head. Katerina hadn't said anything about the kids sleeping with her or her crying at night. I knew she was upset but I didn't think it was that bad.

"I got you a blue one, Daddy!" Freya burst through the door with a jello cup in her hand. I smiled at her and took it before glaring at Kat. She knew I hated jello and I had hoped she'd get me anything else. I had to eat it or deal with Freya's hurt feelings.

"Thanks Freya. Do you want some?" She shook her head and I groaned silently. I looked at Ollie with hope until he scrunched his nose. Hope was already eating a red one and that kid on sugar was worse than that one time Tig took some x at a party in Tacoma.

"How's life on the outside?" I asked Kat as the kids got pulled into some cartoons on the television. She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair.

"You're shielded from a shit load of drama, baby. Gemma is going through ass loads of guilt and won't talk to anybody. Lauren and Chibs did a DNA test and Ryder is his but they broke up because she had to tell him why she needed a paternity test. On top of everything else, Kiara is convinced she's pregnant but she can't do a test for a couple weeks." I raised my brow and almost considered just staying in the hospital.

"Who was Lauren fucking? You know about it back then?" Her eyes darkened as she shook her head.

"No, of course I didn't." She dodged the question about who it was and I started gettta bad feeling.

"Katerina, who was it?" She sighed and looked me in the eyes. I didn't need her to say it. "That stupid cunt."

"What's a cunt?" Freya asked, turning around with a raised brow. Katerina narrowed her eyes and opened her wallet.

"It's a ten dollar word that you better not say again until you're married." Kat said handing her a ten dollar bill. I chuckled and I knew I'd catch hell for that if she said it again. I may have been shot less than a week ago, but I felt luckier than most people to have my family with me.

**Didnt want to leave you all hanging too long :) how could I ever kill Hap off? No, no, no. Oh and you all are the best for all the reviews :) it encourages me to write more**


	9. I'm Sorry

**Some aspects of this chapter may disturb some readers.**

I'd been home for three days and I was getting cabin fever. Katerina had taken Ollie and Freya to the grocery store with her, leaving me the youngest hellion to deal with. She was wide awake and gabbing next to me on the couch as I tried to watch some bullshit documentary on outlaw biker gangs. Hope picked up Mayhem's bone and hit me with it.

"Really?" I turned off the television and looked at her. "Are you happy now? You're just like your mama."

"Daddy! Play!" I smiled and picked her up. She giggled and I tossed her up into the air just as the doorbell rang. I groaned at the pain of catching her and put her down on the couch as Mayhem headed to the door, barking loudly.

"Mayhem, go to Hope." He did as he was told and sat right in front of the couch as I answered the door. I narrowed my eyes at Lauren. She looked like she had been crying and had Ryder holding her hand with a big bag in her other. "What do you want?"

"Happy, where's Katerina?" I narrowed my eyes at her and leaned against the door, blocking her entrance.

"Not here. You looking for Declan or something? Yeah, I know about it. Fucking idiot." She wiped her eyes and shook her head. Even if I wasn't in a bad mood I wouldn't give a damn about her feelings.

"I'm leaving, Happy. I know you all would track me down if I took Ryder, so here." She tossed the bag towards me and I shook my head.

"Shit friend, shit old lady, shit mother. You're gonna ditch your kid because you fucked up? It ain't his fault." I couldn't stand the boy but no kid deserved to have their parent walk out on them. She started crying harder and I took a deep breath, looking down at the kid that looked just like my brother.

"I can't, Hap." I shot her a look that made her take a couple steps back. There was nobody outside my family or the club that could shorten my name.

"Go and leave the kid if you won't fucking take care of him." She bit her lip and bent down to Ryder's height. I couldn't even stand to hear the bullshit apology and the empty promises to be back soon. She left, crying, and didn't look back. I stepped aside and let the kid in. He went straight to the love seat and sat down, staring at his feet that stuck out past the cushion. I tossed the bag over towards the closet and groaned.

"You wanna watch cartoons or something?" I knew I could have softened my voice but it was weird to be alone with the kid. He shook his head and I saw tears falling down onto his white shirt. "Come on, Hope, you need a nap."

She was already half asleep by the time I put her in bed. Mayhem curled up in his bed in the hallway outside of her door and I headed back to the living room to check on Chibs' kid. He was full on crying now and I felt like shit for him.

"It's not your fault, Ryder. You didn't do anything wrong." He just cried harder and I kicked myself for even trying to help. My kids rarely cried like this so I didn't know what the hell to do. I squatted down in front of him and patted his shoulder. He looked up at me and threw his arms around my neck, sobbing into my shirt.

"Shhhhh, buddy it's okay. Your Dad will come get you when he gets home, okay? Nothing's gonna happen to you." I sat down on our couch and just held him and let him cry, not knowing what else to do.

I turned the television back on and changed it to bugs bunny. I didn't feel like watching some heavy ass documentary that was just going to piss me off any more. Ryder sniffles and turned his head a little to watch Bugs and Daffy argue over carrots.

"Hap, babe, wake up." I felt Katerina's hand on my face and heard her soft voice. I opened my eyes to see her standing in front of me with a sad expression. Ryder was on my lap with his head against my chest, sound asleep. Apparently Bugs couldn't keep either of us awake. I nodded over towards the front door and watched as Kat saw the bag. She shook her head slowly and bit her bottom lip.

"Freya and Ollie are napping before lunch and Hope is still sleeping." She told me as we worked together to settle Ryder down on the couch without waking him. I nodded and kept quiet. Once he was down, I took Katerina by the hand and led her into the garage, leaving the door cracked to listen for Mayhem who would let us know if anyone woke up.

"Katerina, how the fuck could you be friends with that sorry excuse for a woman?" I yelled, finally getting to ask my questions. She pulled back, startled by my tone.

"She was never like this before, Hap." She was looking at me with a frown and shaking her head. I was tired, pissed off and in pain so I didn't even stop to think about what I was saying.

"So it's the club's fault? Or Chibs'? You fucking brought her around, Katerina. Now she's left a fucking kid to grow up without a mother!" She moved to go back in the house and I caught her by the arm, pulling her back around to face me.

"At least she was around for those five fucking years, Happy! Chibs wasn't and neither were you. I'm sorry women and kids cramp your fucking style or something, Happy. Let me know if you need your dick sucked or something since that's all I seem to do right by you!" She shoved me back and the heel of her right hand pressed right on the wound that was giving me hell. I reacted without thinking or even realizing what I was doing.

"If I wanted my dick sucked there's plenty of bitches at the club house that would beg me to let them do it." I regretted my words but not nearly as quickly as I regretted smacking her with the back of my hand. She put her hand to the cut on her cheek where my ring had connected with her skin. Her blue eyes swelled with tears quickly as I shook my head.

"Kat, baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you. Shit." I tried to hug her to me and she backed away. The shudder that went through her cut me like a thousand shards of glass.

"Stay away from me, Happy. Just, stay away." She stormed out of the garage and I slammed my fist into the door. Never had I ever hit her or even thought about it. I wanted to tell her it was a reaction from the pain but it just seemed fucking weak. There was no damn excuse for hitting her or saying the shit I did.

I threw my wrench across the garage and ripped my refrigerator open, grabbing a beer and popping the top quickly. If I couldn't forgive myself and she couldn't forgive me either, I didn't want to remember a fucking thing that just happened. Every beer I drank just made me feel worse. I hated feeling like a failure of a husband and a father. It reminded me too much of my own bastard of a father.

"Kat, baby." I walked, half stumbling onto the back porch where she was sitting on the back steps. It was well after nightfall and I figured the kids were in bed since she was out here.

"Tara has the kids and Chibs is on his way to get Ryder." She said, not looking at me. I smelled a joint and sighed.

"Don't take the kids from me, Kat. It's not their fault." I sat down next to her and put my head in my hands to stop the world from spinning. She cough ped out a laugh and stood up.

"So that's it, Happy? You hit me and now you want to end things?" I looked over at her and saw the place where I'd hit her. There was a swollen cut that was surrounded by black and purple bruising. I shook my head and felt tears start falling down my face. I was too broken up to even care about looking like a bitch.

"No, Katerina. I didn't even want to hit you, baby. I don't want us to split up but I couldn't fucking blame you if you left me." She shook her head and pulled my head down onto her chest. Her lips pressed against the back of my head and she shook her head.

"Happy, I love you. I know I shoved your chest and I didn't mean to, baby. I'm sorry. We'll talk about it tomorrow, okay? Go to bed and sleep your refrigerator off." I shook my head and caught her lips with mine. She didn't immediately kiss me back, but when she did, I could tell it was out of obligation even through my drunken state.

I nodded and pulled away, well aware that she didn't want to kiss me. I headed back in the garage and crashed on my couch in there.

SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA

I woke up to a still empty side of the bed. Chibs had grilled me on what happened to my face when he came to get Ryder who hadn't spoken a word since I'd gotten home to find he and Happy asleep on the couch. I touched my cheek gingerly and winced at the sharp pain. I knew he never meant to hit me but what scared me was that it happened at all.

As I stood in the shower, I let the water crash down on me to hide my tears. Happy was my husband, my best friend and the man I wanted to be with until I died. He was an outlaw biker, a killer, and a felon but through all that, I've never had a reason not to trust him until last night.

I understood it may have been a reflex to the pain of me shoving his chest but when I thought about the words he'd said before and after, it hurt that much more. I just wanted him to be the man who tattooed our vows on his rib cage and the man that swore to always love and protect me. Now, I had the smallest sliver of doubt and it was killing me inside.

The quiet house only made things worse. The kids were at Tara and Jax's place until this afternoon. Normally, their high energy filled the house but this morning, it just felt empty and cold. I slipped on one of Happy's shirts and a pair of shorts before walking out of the room. Mayhem fell into step with me as I walked around to find my husband and have the scariest conversation of my life.

"Katerina." Happy stopped and seemed to be at a loss for words. I bit my lip and walked over to him. He was sitting on the couch with a bottle of water in his hands.

"I don't ever want to feel like this again, Happy. I've never doubted you. I've never feared you." I bit my lip again and felt a tear roll down my cheeks.

"Don't be afraid of me, baby. I was upset and my chest was killing me. I didn't even see you when I hit you." I nodded and put my hand over his, wrapping my fingers around his.

"Kat, that shit with Lauren brought up memories of shit I never wanted to remember again. When Lauren left that kid, I could only see my piece of shit father leaving my Ma to raise me on her own. I was the same age Ryder is now. He beat the shit out of her for trying to protect me before he left." I nodded and looked into his eyes. His eyes were a lighter brown than I hade ever seen them.

"So, that's why you cleared out the refrigerator?" He nodded and looked over at me, slowly bringing his forehead down to rest on mine. I brought my lips up and kissed him softly. He picked up the pace slowly but steadily. I moaned and moved to straddle him.

"Is your chest okay for this?" He nodded and pulled my mouth back onto his careful and slow. We had not had sex since he got home and I was still worried about injuring him. I peeled his shirt off of me and let him undo my bra. He kissed my chest and barely skimmed his hands over my body.

"I love you so much, Katerina. I never meant to hurt you. I never will again." I nodded and decided to believe him. He'd never shown any signs of violence before and I had no doubt he loved me and our children. He had never talked about his father before and I knew that it took a lot of trust for him to do that.

We took it slow and it felt like we were closer than ever in that hour. We explored each other with soft touches and kisses, as if we were both made of glass. I shook my head when he moved to cum outside of me. I wanted to give him everything, including a fourth child. We came together and I moaned into his mouth as he shuddered with his release.

A/N: Please understand that everything I write has a purpose and I don't add this violence in light heartedly. It is important for the further development of their relationship as well as Happy's relationship with his children. I apologize for any offense as it was not written with that intention


	10. Celebration

I sat on the edge of the bathtub, staring at the stick on the sink. I was three days late and that was far from normal for me. I kept looking at my watch and bouncing my lag. The sound of a motorcycle pulling in to the driveway made me nervous. I wanted to give him good news.

Since that slap from him, we started talking more and I learned about his past. He told me about his father and why he tried so hard to be there for the kids whenever he could. He shared stories about going surfing and hiking and painted a picture of a man that any child would be happy to call his father, until he wasn't.

Happy's father got caught up in drugs and gambling when he'd lost his job as a security guard for some big corporation in San Francisco. He started hitting Happy any time he would come home and find a single thing out of place. At one point, he told him he was the reason he had lost his job and started doing drugs. The night his father left, Happy's Ma stepped in front of a hit that was meant for Happy. It broke my heart but I could see a difference in him once he finally told me about it.

"Kat?" He called in from the living room. I still had two minutes left before the test would be ready.

"In here, Hap!" I opened the bathroom door and went back to my perch on the side of the tub. He walked in and gave me a funny look. I pointed to the sink and watched the realization wash over him. He nodded and sat down next to me, his wallet chain slapping against the side of the tub.

"How much longer?" He asked after five seconds. I laughed and put my head on his shoulder. He took my hand and kissed it.

"A minute now." He nodded and stared at the plastic stick on the sink as if it was going to stand up and do a dance. My watch beeped and I bit my lip. He looked at me and eventually stood up to grab it once I had stayed still as stone for what he deemed too long.

"Why can't these things just say yes or no?" He growled, angling his head from one side to the other. I giggled a little and shook my head.

"It's not abstract art, baby. One line or two?" He twisted his mouth and turned it over, end to end.

"Which one is which? Ow, Jesus Christ babe. Two." He had gotten slugged for the delay. I knew damn well he saw the legend on the stick. He knew what it meant. He tossed the stick into the sink and picked me up, hugging me tightly and giving me a kiss. I was smiling brightly and kissing his smiling lips.

"Kiara and I are going to have due dates in the same month!" I squeezed him tightly and laughed. This was the first time we got to celebrate finding out we were expecting. With Freya, we thought we'd lost her before we even knew about her. With Ollie, he was heading inside for a long stint and with Hope, well he was in prison when we found out. So, I was happy to share this with him.

"I love you, Kat. You know that, right?" I nodded and smiled up at him, but it faded as I saw his expression. He was frowning a little. I brushed my hand over his cheek and searched his face for some explanation. "I'm sorry I haven't been a better father and husband, Kat."

"Happy, it's been over a month. You have nothing to apologize for. You saying that is telling me you're sorry for caring. That you're sorry for having a heart and being human. Happy Lowman, you are the best husband and father I could dream of. You have to quit beating yourself up."

"Kat, I hit you." I shook my head and slapped him hard across the face. He didn't scowl or move to stop me.

"There, I hit you. Can we please move on now?" He cupped my face in both of his hands and kissed me wildly. I pulled back for air and looked into his heated eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Celebrating, Katerina." He picked me up and carried me into the bedroom, laying me down carefully before kissing me roughly. His teeth found my shoulder and I knew he'd leave marks, but I wore them proudly.

I pulled into the lot with a smile. I had followed Happy over after we celebrated and brought Hope with me. Freya and Ollie were both at school so I just had my baby to handle while her daddy worked in the garage. Kiara walked up and greeted me as I got out of the truck.

"So?" She asked, bouncing with anticipation. She knew I was taking the test today and she was dying to know the results. I picked Hope up out of her car seat and closed the door with my hip.

"Two pink lines." I said with a little grin. She squealed and hugged me. Hope giggled and popped a kiss onto her forehead. Kiara pulled back with a laugh.

"How's Happy taking it?" I blushed and pulled the neck of my shirt to the right to show the marks. She blushed, "that well, huh?"

Our giggling was interrupted by a police cruiser pulling in to the lot. Kiara stepped to my side and planted her hands on her hips. The power tools stopped and Jax walked out of the clubhouse with a scowl.

"Help you, officer?" Jax asked, sliding his hand over his slicked back hair. It was the same Sheriff that had pulled me over and showed up at the hospital. He smirked and pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head.

"Looking into your boy's shooting. Thought I'd drop by to see if anyone remembered anything. Happy walked out of the garage with his coveralls half down and his undershirt showing off his ink and muscles.

"You could have saved a trip, Michaelson. We have a phone." Jax said with a sarcastic smile. The sheriff nodded and walked towards Kiara and I.

"Heard you had a shiner a few weeks back, want to tell me about that?" He asked, propping a hand up on the bed of Happy's truck. I pulled Hope over to the side further away from him and shook my head.

"If I did, I would have." I growled as Happy came over to me and picked Hope up. She popped a kiss on his ear and he rolled his head, unable to to suppress a grin. Michaelson's eyes fell on my neck and he stepped closer. Happy also took a step forward.

"Like it rough, Recker?" I scowled and gave him a sweet smile. Happy growled and Hope scowled.

"I do, actually. How does it feel to know that you'll never find out what it's like? I'm sure your wife wishes she could at least get a firm dick in her. Then again, maybe she's fucking some bad boy right now. Maybe he's fucking her senseless so she can try to cope with the disappointment of you coming home." I saw Tig's mouth drop and Happy chuckled, looking back at me with surprise.

"I could arrest you all right now." Michaelson said loudly. Hope scowled at him and crossed her arms.

"Cunt." She said with a huff. Happy howled with laughter and gave her a high five. I tried not to laugh as the sheriff stormed away.

"Apparently you owe the bad jar a lot of money, Happy." He continued laughing and unhooked his wallet, tossing it over to me.

"Take it all if you want, baby. That was fucking hilarious." I laughed and shook my head, reconnecting his wallet and sliding it back into his pocket. Hope was looking around, confused and entertained by all the laughter.

"Best laugh I've had in a month, brother." Chibs chuckled and ruffled Hope's hair, which he knew would irritate her. I took Hope from Happy and gave him a kiss before he headed back to work in the garage.

"What's that guy's problem? You'd think he was the one that got shot or something." I nodded and smoothed Hope's hair as she gabbed on in mostly baby talk.

"I don't know. You think Juice would look into him for us? Maybe there's something we're missing, some reason he's being such an ass." Hope looked over at me and smiled.

"Ass!" She said loudly. I shook my head and covered her mouth with two fingers, shaking my head.

"No, no, don't you start saying that or your daddy will know you got it from me." I kissed her cheek and pulled my fingers away. She immediately started gabbing again.

"Ay, do ya have a minute, Katerina?" Kerrianne was getting out of a white BMW with a temporary tag. I nodded and pointed towards the clubhouse, wanting to get Hope out of the sun before she started burning. Unlike Freya and Ollie, who could stay out in the sun for hours, Hope would get red after a while.

"What's up?" I asked, screwing the lid on to the sippy cup and handing it over to Hope who was playing with oversized blocks. She sighed and shook her head, sitting down on the couch across from me.

"It's Ryder, Kat. I love me brother to death and I would always tell Ma I wished for one but I didn't think I'd 'ave to raise him. Da does wha he can but he's just so busy with whateva tha club is up to." She took a deep breath and exhaled with a sigh.

"You're young, Kerrianne. I know I wouldn't have handled your situation nearly as well at your age. Have you talked to Chibs about it?" I looked up as the clubhouse door open and Gemma came walking through with Nero.

"Nah, don't want 'im feeling guilty. He's really doin' all he can." I nodded and clenched my teeth together. I hadn't seen or spoken to Lauren since before she dropped Ryder off with Happy, but the thought of what she had done infuriated me.

"Talk to him, sweetheart. If you need some time to just be a kid, let one of us know. That's what we're here for. Lyla loves kids so I'm sure she'd watch him some if you wanted." I noticed her relax and smiled a little. "Excuse me for a minute, doll."

"You can leave Hope, I'll watch her." I gave her a questioning look and she giggled with a shrug. I didn't question it any further and walked over to Gemma who had just sent Nero away with a huff.

"Hey, sweetheart. You doing okay?" Gemma asked with a weak grin. I followed her gaze back to Hope and nodded.

"She's good, Gemma. Are you done avoiding me now?" She had been dodging me ever since Jimmy took she and Hope. Even when Happy was laid up in the hospital, she would only visit him when I wasn't there and when Tara gave her the heads up that he was asleep.

"I figure I've pushed enough people away today. Sweetheart, I want you to know I would have done anything to protect our girl." I saw some rare tears forming in her normally stoic eyes and shook my head, pulling her in for a hug.

"That goes without saying, Gem. I never had any doubt that you would do all you could. I'm just glad neither of you were hurt." She scoffed and I felt her tense.

"No, but I got one of the men hurt. Happy could have died." I held my hand up to stop her short.

"Gemma, you've known him longer than I have. You know he would have fought just as hard if it was one of his brothers. You're family, so don't apologize. Besides, he's too damn mean and excited to knock me up to check out just yet." Her brow shot up and I smirked with a nod.

"Jesus Christ, congratulations! You and Kiara both knocked up at the same time; and the boys thought the Irish were giving them hell." She laughed and hugged me again. Just then, Kiara walked in with Juice, looking pissed. Gemma made a noise, as if to say she told me so.

"What's wrong?" I asked as Juice gave up trying to reason with her and stormed out of the clubhouse. She rolled her eyes and tossed a hand towards the door.

"He doesn't tell me shit until after the fact." She huffed and sat down on a barstool. Gemma and I shared a look before looking back to Kiara. "He bought another bike. I'm tellin' ya, that bikie isn't getting any for a fortnight."

"You're not going to last a week, shelia. You like to root just as much as he does." She glowered at me and shook her head.

"Aye, but I have a vibrator." Happy and Juice walked in and she whipped her head away from him so fast it sent hair whipping at my face.

"Kat, would you be pissed if I bought another bike?" Happy asked, taking a beer from the prospect behind the bar. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head.

"Don't you egg it on, Happy. I'm not getting in the middle of it." I pointed at Juice who raised his hands innocently.

"Daddy! Ride!" Happy looked over at Hope and waved his hand in front of his throat. She put a finger up to her lips and made a shhhh noise. He turned back to me and smiled.

"Lowman! If you've had her on your bike! So help me God I will kick your ass." I threatened. He groaned and looked over at Hope as she walked up to him. She reached for his chain before he scooped her up.

"Thanks kid. It was just from the garage to the gate, babe. Didn't even leave the lot. Scouts honor." I laughed and tossed a bottle cap at him.

"You're about the furthest thing from a scout I've ever seen, damn bikie." Kiara laughed as Happy shrugged and yanked me over to kiss my forehead.

"Bikie, what the fuck is that?" Kiara and I shared a look and smiled. Happy knew exactly what it was but he was in enough deep water with me to open his mouth. It was merely something we called Harley riders back home, but it was fun messing with Juice.

**Sorry for the delay in updates. My ideas on this one are slacking a little and I'm switching shifts at work (again). That along with a mini-vacation has me pressed for writing time but I hope to get some creative juices flowing again soon. Do you all think Lauren should make one last appearance so Kat can deal with her or no?**


	11. It's not your fault

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

Kat was halfway through what we agreed would be her last pregnancy and we were sitting in the waiting room of the doctor's office. Hope, Ollie and Freya were all at Gemma's house for some kiddie party that I didn't want any part of. It was nice to have some time alone with Katerina, even if it was in a doctor's office.

"How long you think we got between the nurse leaving and the doc coming in?" I asked with a smirk. Katerina looked up from her magazine and shook her head slowly, not bothering to comment. I shrugged and figured I might as well behave since she liked the doctor.

"Do you want a boy or a girl, Hap?" She tossed the magazine onto the table and twisted around in the chair to look at me. I shook my head and kissed her stomach gently.

"I want a healthy kid that's a mix between all the little assholes we've got running around already. Talks a little less than Freya, a little easier to read than Ollie and a little less crazy than Hope." I said, ticking off the qualities on my fingers. Kat smacked my chest and shook her head.

"Hope isn't crazy, Hap! She's just spunky. Just wait, when she's older you're going to be happy she can stand up for herself." I saw a flash of her pretty ass being a teenager and having to deal with some little shithead like myself when I was sixteen. I shook the horrors out of my head.

"Hell no, Kat. They're staying under ten forever." She laughed and kissed my lips gently. I was going to convince her I was serious when the nurse finally called her back. I took her hand and helped her up, noticing she was bigger with this baby than the others. It was a sensitive subject and the last time I'd mentioned it, she hurled a mug at me.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Lowman?" I still wasn't used to hearing her called that after all these years. I smiled inwardly as she hesitated before stepping on the scale. She looked over at me and made a swirling motion with her finger. I rolled my eyes and turned my back.

"I'm okay, just tired. I haven't really been sleeping that well." I knew she was just being honest, but that hurt. I'd been on a lot of runs recently to save up some money for when the baby came, not to mention dealing with all the Irish shit. Even after what Jimmy did the IRA "Kings" were still pushing the guns on us.

"Your vitals look good, Mrs. Lowman. I'm going to let Doctor Wright know you're ready." Katerina nodded and situated herself on the exam table. I smiled when the door closed.

"Don't even think about it, Happy. She would know if I was, well, turned on." I laughed and earned myself a glare.

"You're always turned on, babe. I've got three and a half kids to prove it." I said with a wink. She stuck her tongue out at me as the doctor knocked on the door. Katerina shot me a look that warned me not to comment on it.

"Do you want to see if we can determine the sex today?" Dr. Wright asked as she went through the medical chart. Kat's eyes were shining as she nodded. I grinned and leaned back in the hard plastic chair. Watching Kat laying on that exam table made me think about all the times I'd worried about getting some bitch knocked up.

Just the thought of having a kid used to make me sick to my stomach. I had almost considered keeping a spare couple hundred bucks around for any bitch that claimed one was mine and needed to take care of it. Now, I couldn't even remember what it felt like to not have kids. Well, I could but I didn't like to.

"Well, I hope you all still have some of Oliver's stuff stored away because you're having a little boy." I tried not to act too excited but I was stoked. I loved my daughters but I was tired of being outnumbered. Besides, Ollie had begged Kat and I for a little brother.

"Oh, stop trying to act all cool, Hap." I laughed and nodded with a yawn. Kat frowned a little and I could see the "I told you so" written all over her face. She'd told me I didn't have to come for this appointment since I'd just gotten in from a four day run at three that morning. I hadn't missed a single appointment for this kid though and I wasn't about to start now.

"What do you want to name him?" I asked as we walked back out to the Armada. Kat looked up from the pictures she'd gotten the doc to print her. She sucked her bottom lip in and bit down on it gently. I opened the door for her and raised my brow. She climbed in without a word, so I closed the door and hurried to my side.

"Don't be mad and you can tell me no, okay?" I nodded and waited to start the car until she told me. I saw tears forming in her eyes and wondered what in the hell she could be crying about. "I want to name him Harry."

"For Ope?" She nodded and bit down hard on her lip to stop it from trembling. I shook my head and pulled her towards me by the back of her neck. "It's perfect, babe. I know he looked out for you when I was inside the first time."

"Are you sure babe? You don't mind him being named after a brother?" I dropped my hand from the ignition and looked over at her with a half smile.

"Kat, if our son is half the man Opie was, we're going to be pretty damn lucky. He was one of the good ones, Kat. I'm happy you thought of it." I took a deep breath and started the car as I got lost in my own thoughts. It was tough thinking about how many brothers I'd lost over the years. Either SAMCRO, nomads or SAMTEC, they were all my closest brothers and it wasn't easy losing any of them.

"I love you, Happy." Kat put her hand in mine and smiled. I nodded and leaned back in the seat, looking forward to getting home and spending some time together. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

I looked over at her and noticed she was looking towards the back of the car. I checked the rearview and noticed blue lights flashing behind me. I groaned and yanked the suv onto the side of the road. Kat sighed and put her head on the head rest.

"Happy Lowman, where are you headed?" I wondered if the county had any other fucking deputies anymore. Michaelson propped his hand up on the side of the car and waved my license and documents away. I passed them over to Kat who was avoiding him like the plague.

"Home." I said flatly. Even in my best mood I didn't like dealing with cops. I was tired and this certain cop was on my shit list. He nodded and leaned down a little, eyeing Katerina.

"Not headed to your whore house? Surprising." I gripped the steering wheel and looked him in the eyes. "Oh, you didn't hear about it getting shot to shit? Yeah, dead hookers everywhere."

"Oh my god!" Kat whispered and covered her mouth with her hand. I recognized the face she was making and knew she was getting sick to her stomach. Michaelson shrugged and patted the door.

"Just thought you should know." He winked and headed back to his patrol car. I checked my phone. No missed calls and no messages. That wasn't good. I swallowed hard and called Jax.

"Hey, boy or girl?" He sounded too damn care free to know anything about Diosa. I took a deep breath and stared at the head liner.

"We gotta get down to Diosa, Jax. Sheriff Dickhead said it's been shot to shit. I'm dropping Kat off by home and getting my bike." I said, wishing it wasn't the case. He yelled at everyone to get up and I heard a lot of movement.

"Aight, I'm sending Rat over and he can make sure she gets to Mom's. We're going on lockdown but I don't want to move everyone until we can all be there." Jax said as engines sprung to life in the background. I agreed and ended the call.

"Hap." I shook my head, not wanting to get into it with her. I knew what she was going to say. "Hap, I want you to find the assholes who did this and make sure they never hurt anyone again."

"I will, babe. You and the kids are safe, I swear." She hadn't said what I thought she would and I was both relieved and worried. She normally ordered me to stay safe.

"Rat, you leave my wife or my kids unprotected and I'll shoot you in every fucking joint you have." I called out as I started my bike. Katerina rolled her eyes at me as I stood up from the seat to give her a kiss. She cradled my face in both of her hands and gave me a smile.

"I'll be good, Hap. Be careful." I nodded, happy to hear her familiar order again. She kissed me one more time before I started rolling out of the driveway.

"What are we thinking?" I asked Jax as I walked into Diosa. There was crime scene tape everywhere and police taking pictures of all the slaughtered girls. Jax shook his head and flicked his cigarette away.

"Not exactly the Irish way." Chibs said as he ducked under the crime scene tape to join us. I nodded in agreement and spun my toothpick in circles. I almost wish it was the Irish, then at least we knew what their fucking deal was.

"Oh my god, what happened?" I cringed at the familiar voice and felt Chibs stiffen next to me. We hadn't seen Lauren in months and now she shows up at the shot up whore house? She always had a knack for bad timing.

"What are ya doin' 'ere?" Chibs asked flatly, not moving any closer to her. She had both hands over her mouth and she was shaking her head.

"I was on my way to the bar and saw all the police cars and ambulances. I was worried." I looked over at Jax who shook his head slowly.

"Worried about wha? Ya hated most these women." Lauren didn't deny it but instead stared at Chibs.

"The bikes were out there and I just..." She trailed off but it was obvious what she'd thought. Jax and I took a few steps away to give them some room. It was hard to tell what Chibs was thinking but I knew one person who would be truly pissed if she showed back up.

"Juice, get back to the clubhouse and see what the cops know. I'm going to stay here with Chibs and talk to Nero. Rest of you go back and get the women and kids to the clubhouse. I don't think I have to tell you to shoot first." Jax was looking at me and I just gave him a look as if to ask who he was kidding.

"You going to tell Kat about Lauren being back?" Juice asked as we walked outside. I glanced over at him as I put my helmet on.

"She ain't back. She just showed up. Not pissing my woman off until I have to." I said, knowing better than to piss her hormonal ass off for nothing.

"Daddy! Ollie called me silly!" Freya said as I walked into Gemma's house. I scooped her up and kissed her just above the ear.

"You ratting, Freya Eleanor?" She frowned at the use of one of her middle names and shook her head. I nodded and ruffled her hair before picking Hope up. Ollie walked up to me and smirked at Freya. "Don't tease your sister and go get your Ma."

"What are you doing here, Hap?" Katerina eyed me suspiciously and I shook my head. She studied my face for a moment before biting her lip and nodding slowly. She understood it wasn't good.

"Daddy, can I shoot your gun?" Ollie asked as he climbed up into his booster seat.

"When you're old enough to clean it and load it. Don't touch any, Oliver." I didn't know why he and Freya chose today to be little Katerinas and test my damn patience. Hope, for once, was behaving.

"I'll follow you, baby." Katerina said with a kiss to my chin. I nodded and closed the back door. "Sure you wanted another one?"

"Yeah, it won't talk for a while." I smirked and kissed her forehead. "Rat, follow them." He nodded and gave me a salute.

"I'll be on her ass. I mean. The car. I'll be on the car's ass." I glared at him and started my bike as Katerina had a good laugh.

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

I pulled through the gate not a minute too soon. Freya and Ollie were bickering loudly in the backseat and Hope was gabbing away about putting Mayhem in a dress. I was looking forward to getting the three of them down for naps before taking one myself. Like I told the doctor, it was hard for me to sleep recently. I thought since Hap was in town I might be able to sleep a little better.

"Freya, Ollie, please quit fighting." I pleaded as I got them out of their booster seats. Freya stuck her tongue out at Ollie and stomped over to her father. I shook my head and let Hope out of her car seat. She took my hand and stayed close to me as we headed into the clubhouse behind her siblings and Happy.

"You three let your ma sleep. Especially you, chatty cathy." He pointed at Freya who huffed and nodded her head. I smiled at him as he put them to bed. Hope tried to hide behind my legs to avoid nap time. Happy smirked and bent down to be on her level.

"Princess, you need a nap if you're going to have ice cream later. I heard there might be sprinkles." She lunged around me and into his arms. It was a known fact that she would cooperate if you mentioned ice cream.

"Get some rest, Kat. I'll be here for a while but if I leave Rat's staying here with you." I nodded and kissed him. His lips met my pace and I traced my nails over the back of his neck.

"I love you, Happy." I whispered into his ear after finally breaking the kiss off. He growled and nipped my ear.

"I love you to, Katerina." I nodded and watched as he left the room. The kids were already sound to sleep in the bed, so I carefully got in next to them and closed my eyes.

Less than an hour later, I heard a commotion coming from down the hall. The kids were still sound asleep, so I slipped out of bed and headed out silently. Kerrianne was yelling in Gaelic and I had no idea what she was saying. Chibs, on the other hand, was using the same language to try and calm her down. I peeled my eyes away from the feisty young woman and realized exactly what had gotten her so worked up.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Lauren, who was standing a few feet behind Chibs. She brought her eyes up to mine and bit her lip. I wished I could jump on her and beat her ass, but my ever growing stomach reminded me just how impossible that was.

"K, I'm sorry. I was scared and stupid." She explained, walking towards me slowly. Rat was a couple feet away from me and seemed ready to jump in if he needed to. "I took some time and realized how wrong I was. I thought they'd be better off without me. I miss my family."

"Your family? You walked out on that family, Lauren. You dumped your son off in my living room and high tailed it to God knows where. Your own flesh and blood." I felt Harry start kicking at my ribs as I yelled.

"It was both our faults, Katerina." Chibs said gruffly. Kerrianne stormed off towards the lot and slammed the door behind her. I groaned and wished my headache would go away. Instead, it seemed to be physically manifesting itself before my eyes.

"Really, Chibs? I didn't realize you dropped Ryder off with Happy that day. I didn't realize you left Charming with your tail between your legs." I put my hand on the top of my bump, hoping Harry would stop playing soccer inside my stomach.

"Kat, you don't look so good." Rat said as he moved towards me. I shook my head and tried to sit down on the stool behind me. I put my arms out quickly, trying to find something to hold on to as I fell back. I cringed and screamed out as a jolt of pain ripped through my stomach as Rat caught me before I managed to bust my ass on the ground.

"Kat, hey, look at me." Lauren said from a distance. I tried to open my eyes to look at her but couldn't manage to unclamp them as another pain shot through my back and stomach. "Tara, help her!"

"How is she?" I recognized Happy's voice through the haze in my mind. I still couldn't force my eyes open but the pain was finally gone. I groaned and tried to turn my head, but nothing was working right.

"We did everything we could, Happy." It sounded like Tara and I wondered what she was talking about. There was a loud thud and then some throaty sobs.

"Go, Tara." Happy's voice sounded broken and I tried to fight through the haze and comfort him. Instead, I only managed to wear myself out and fall back into a drug induced sleep.

"Happy?" It hurt to try and talk but I wanted him to wake up. His arms were resting on the side of the hospital bed and I could tell he was sleeping by the way his shoulders moved in a steady beat. He stirred and looked up at me. There were dark rings around his eyes and his irises were lighter than usual.

"Katerina. You scared the shit out of me, babe." He stood up and moved closer to me, brushing his lips over my forehead. I nodded, having been pretty scared myself.

"What happened?" He swallowed hard and put his forehead on mine. I felt sick as I realized it wasn't good.

"I don't know, Kat. Tara said something about rupturing. Kat, I'm sorry." He had tears in his eyes and I nodded, letting my own tears cascade down my cheeks. I turned my head away from him and closed my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Happy." He tried to turn my chin back towards him but I refused. I couldn't stand to see the hurt I'd put in his eyes. I hated myself for letting anything happen to our son.

"Katerina, it's not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, babe. Tara said if you would have made it to term you would have lost more blood and I would have lost you. Doctor should have caught it at the appointment." He growled and I heard the familiar rage in his voice. I shook my head and pulled my legs up towards my chest.

"It's my fault." He sighed and kissed my cheek and my forehead before stepping away. I felt the side of the bed give way and knew he was back in the same spot he was before I woke him up.

**I know you all aren't going to like that, but it's setting up for the end. I haven't decided if I'm going to do a time jump or not, but the end is coming soon. **


	12. Loyalty

**SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA***SAMCRO***SOA**

"Kat, wake up babe." I kissed her bare shoulder and pulled her closer to me. She'd been home for a few days and she was finally letting me touch her. She groaned and backed up against my chest. I kissed her just above the ear and watched her eyes open slowly. She yawned and I felt her body shudder with a stretch.

"What time is it?" She mumbled into the pillow. I checked the clock on her side of the bed and kissed her again.

"It's ten." She bolted up, just like I thought she would. I watched her look back at me with a cute glare before I laughed. "Freya and Ollie are at school with lunch money and Hope is playing with Mayhem while watching some little kid show that's teaching her Spanish."

"You got the kids ready for school?" I laughed and nodded at her disbelief. She smiled and I felt the weight of the world lift off of my chest. It was the first time she'd really smiled since the miscarriage.

"I'm taking some time off, Kat. I thought we could head down to Australia for a few days. The kids are older now and your aunt would probably want to meet Hope." I looked over at her and waited for her to shoot me down. Instead, she just nodded.

"I like that idea. We need to get away and reset." She said, leaning down and kissing me gently. I kissed her back and brushed her hair out of her face, knowing better than to push her too far.

"That's good cause we're leaving Wednesday." I moved out of the bed quickly so she couldn't hit me. "I've gotta talk to Tig about watching Mayhem. You want to follow me over to the garage?"

"Sure, let me take a shower, babe." She caught me off guard and slugged my arm. "That's for buying plane tickets without asking me first, asshole."

"You married me." I called after her as the water turned on. Hope sped into the bedroom carrying Mayhem's water bowl. I groaned, knowing it was full ten minutes ago.

"Daddy, ma'em needs water!" Hope yelled. She was under the impression that she had to yell everything or she wouldn't be heard. I scooped her up in my arm and shook my head.

"He does now anyways." I grumbled as I followed the water from our bedroom to the kitchen where the bowl belonged. Mayhem looked up at me as if to ask why she'd stolen his bowl. I filled it up again and scratched his head before going to wait for Katerina in the living room.

"She's speaking more Spanish than English these days." Katerina said a few minutes later. I leaned my head back to watch her walk towards us and smiled. Hope had taken to the language better than even Freya had. It bugged the hell out of Kiara when Hope got frustrated that her aunt couldn't understand her.

"Yeah, she is. You ready to go?" Katerina pulled out her leather jacket that I hadn't seen her wear in a while and nodded as she put it on. Hope took Kat's hand and waved to Mayhem as we headed out to the garage.

"Hap, will you take Hope inside with you?" Katerina asked as she slid out of the truck. I hung my helmet on my handlebars and nodded. I figured she wanted to talk to Gemma since she hadn't really accepted any visitors at home and this was her first day back to TM.

"Vamos a ver a su tío loco (Let's go see your crazy uncle)." I told Hope as I got her out of the car seat. She giggled and yelled "loco". Katerina chuckled and kissed Hope's forehead.

"You brought the cute one!" Tig said as I put Hope down just inside the clubhouse. I laughed and watched her run to hug him.

"Tío loco!" She yelled as he picked her up. I smirked at his confused expression as Hope gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Kat's outside talking to Gemma." I offered before he could ask me. He smiled and nodded as Hope tangled her fingers into his mess of dark curls.

"When did Gemma get back? Lauren was waiting for her in the office. Gem went to the store a couple minutes ago." I almost inhaled my toothpick and shook my head. Rat raised his brow, wondering what he'd said wrong. Tig passed Hope off to the prospect and we both bolted out of the clubhouse.

"I'm not leaving, Katerina!" Lauren yelled, backing away from my wife. Tig groaned beside me and I debated on pulling Katerina off or not.

"You are leaving, Lauren! Everybody was doing just fine until you came back into town. Chibs was trying to move on. You know, after you walked out of his and your son's lives?" Katerina closed the distance between she and Lauren again. I knew I should have broken them up, but damn if her accent wasn't hot as hell.

"K, I know you're going through a rough time but you need to stay out of my business!" Lauren spat, backing up again. Katerina laughed and grabbed Lauren by the throat. Tig moved to go break them up, but I caught him by the back of his kutte.

"Best to let it happen now, Tig." I knew bitches well enough to know that Lauren wasn't going to stick around this time and Katerina needed to get her frustration out. Might as well let her take it out on Lauren.

"My family, my business." Katerina growled, shoving Lauren up against the chain link fence. I moved closer, that way I could pull her off if it went to far.

"They're my family, Katerina." Kat head-butted Lauren and the crack of her nose was audible even to me and Tig. I grimaced and remembered the first time my nose was broken in a fight.

"Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family. Obviously you don't even know what it means to be loyal. Maybe you should go find Declan." That was my cue to go in and pull her off before she killed the bitch.

"Best use of Jax's motto to date, Kat." Tig was laughing as she fought me to get back at Lauren who was holding her nose and crying. I shot him a glare but I couldn't help smirking.

"I love you, Katerina." She quit fighting and looked up at me with a smile and a nod.

"Forever, for always and no matter what." She whispered before kissing me gently. I nodded and squeezed her tight.

**This is the official end of A Place Called Home. I'm planning on adding on a couple additional chapters of some special moments when the kids are older but I'm not sure when that will be. I will tell you that one of the bonus chapters will include Freya's first date (Happy will not be happy (pun intended)) I love this couple and their family and I'm glad they seem to have so many fans :) xoxo Ashley**


	13. ParentTeacher

"I don't like this shit." I growled as Katerina came down the stairs with Freya in tow. She looked as beautiful as she did the day we got married and every other day I'd been lucky enough to spend with her. Freya was right on her heels with long, dark hair and her Ma's blue eyes. She was wearing a torn up Harley Davidson t-shirt that showed too much damn skin through the holes.

"That makes two of us then. Freya, go get in the car." Kat snapped as she grabbed her purse and car keys. I shook my head and wondered why I was being dragged along to this parent-teacher meeting. Kat normally dealt with the school out of her own choosing.

"Katerina, I'm glad you could make it. Mr. Lowman, nice to see you. Please, take a seat." The teacher was some banker looking prick with curly brown hair and a bow tie. I hated that he used Kat's first name. Freya looked over at me and smirked. No wonder she thought it was funny when Kat made me agree to coming along. She and Kat sat down at desks next to one another while I leaned against one next to Kat.

"What is it this time?" Katerina asked, shooting Freya a look. Our daughter just smirked at her and leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. She was thirteen going on twenty-five.

"Well, Freya seems to have a problem with authority. She's getting top grades in all of her classes but her behavior is that of a delinquent." The bow tie man said, never taking his eyes of Kat. I was still waiting to see why I got drug away from the garage for this. "Just last week she got in a verbal argument with a boy during the middle of a quiz."

"What'd the kid do, Freya?" I enjoyed the way the man flinched when I spoke. Freya looked me in the eye and sat up straighter.

"He kept moaning at me. I told him to stop and he said some shit that pissed me off." Freya said firmly. I motioned for her to keep talking. She twisted a reaper ring-similar to the one on my hand-that hung from a chain around her neck and bit her lip. "He said that I needed to practice if I was going to be a biker whore. I told him I wasn't a whore and that he sounded like a cat in heat."

"Aight, so did my kid do anything worth calling us down here for? All I got so far was her sticking up for herself." I growled, growing more irritated by the minute. The teacher just looked at me and shook his head before giving Kat a pleading look. She just looked back at him with annoyance etched all over her face.

"That's just one instance. Look at this paper she turned in last week. The assignment was to write about any event that happened over the summer break. This was supposed to be a paper about real events. It's well written but hardly believable." He said, passing Katerina a few pages. Freya had her cocky grin on her face as Kat skimmed the first page. I stepped over as she held it out for me. I read the title, "Surfing and Riding". I couldn't help but smile at the way she wrote and described everything in detail.

"What's not believable? The kids spent most the summer in Australia." I said with a shrug. We'd made the hard decision to send them with Kiara's kid Loki when shit got really heated with the club. The teacher raised his brow and it pissed me off. "So you think my kid is a liar?"

"Look, obviously some of these things can be explained but she's disrespectful to other students and we don't have to talk about the fight with the sixth grader do we?" He scrambled away from his desk he'd been sitting on when I walked over to him.

"We talking about the boy almost twice her size that she fought for picking on her little sister? We talking about that neo-nazi prick? The one that called my nine year old a dirty wetback? If he was eighteen I would have kicked his ass to." I snapped and pointed towards the door. Freya sighed and got up, leaving the room.

"If she keeps on like this she'll be expelled. Justify it all you want, Mr. Lowman." Katerina took my hand and it kept me from punching the little bow tie man. Shoved her way in front of me and purposely rubbed her ass on my leg. Damn woman knew how to distract me.

"Expel our daughter and this school will have a lawsuit for discrimination and anything else our lawyer wants to throw on there." Katerina said before turning on her heel and looking at me. I smirked and kissed her, hard and deep. I knew it made the teacher feel like a pussy, it was an added bonus to kissing my wife whenever and wherever I wanted.

"Dad, can I ride back with you?" Freya asked as Kat and I caught up with her in the hallway. I nodded and pulled her under my arm.

"You're better than I was back in school. Your Ma was probably a damn angel." I teased as we got to the parking lot. Katerina put her hand on her hip and smirked.

"I was expelled for fighting when I was fifteen. Why do you think I can put up with you so easily?" She called out over her car. She'd finally sold the 350z two years ago and got a Camaro which she immediately made me put in the shop for a loud ass exhaust. The three crazy women in my life were why my hair would be almost solid grey if I let it grow out.

I let Freya fasten her helmet before starting the bike and heading for the clubhouse. She'd been bugging Jax about hanging out with Abel and he just got ungrounded so I figured they may as well hang out while I work on my bike.

"You know your kid is hanging out with Abel?" Tig said as I polished a bolt clean. I nodded and looked up at Tig, knowing he had more to say. "They're gonna end up together. Gonna have little Teller grandkids."

"You're full of shit. They grew up together, asshole. He knows I'd kick his ass if he touched her." I glanced over to where Freya and Abel were hanging out on the old swing set. Tig chuckled and pat my shoulder. I just shook my head and moved on to changing my air filter. My little girl was too damn young for me to worry about stupid little boys yet.

A/N: Okay, here's the deal. We're going to have a chapter from each of their perspectives. First Happy then Kat, Freya, Ollie, and Hope. Finally, there will be a third person chapter that will end the story. There will be time jumps but it will be chronological. They'll be longer than this one, most likely.


	14. Daddy's Girl

"Oliver! Turn that down!" I yelled as I banged my fist against his bedroom door. He was listening to some electronic music so loudly it was shaking the floor. He cut the music off and opened the door.

"Sorry, Mom. I was drawing." He said, kissing my cheek before heading down the stairs, no doubt headed to the kitchen. He just turned fifteen and he was already catching up to Happy's height. It was like watching Happy as a young man.

"Mom! Hope is being a brat!" Freya yelled up the stairs. I rolled my eyes and silently cursed Happy for being on the road. Hope had just started her first period and she was moody and bitchy.

"Hope, what's going on." Her short pixie cut still surprised me even a month after she'd first cut her straw blonde hair. She rolled her eyes and pointed at Freya.

"She's the brat. She thinks since she has a license she gets to tell me where I can and can't go! She's not my mother, you are!" Hope said, gesturing angrily towards her older sister. Freya had just turned seventeen and we had gotten her an older Mustang for her birthday. She'd made the grades and worked hard on staying out of trouble so she'd earned it.

"I'm not deaf, Hope. Where are you wanting to go?" I asked, picking up the empty pizza box and passing it over the bar to Ollie who was grinning. I looked back at Hope.

"She's wanting to go to Ellie's party. You know, our college age cousin that lives in Oakland?" Freya said with an eye roll. I shook my head.

"Absolutely not, Hope. You aren't even fourteen yet. Why even argue with Freya about it? You knew the answer would be no." She sighed and stormed up the stairs. No one was surprised to hear her bedroom door slam behind her. I shook my head.

"See, Mom? I wasn't that difficult after all." Freya said with her signature smirk. I pointed at her and shook my head.

"That's yet to be seen. Have you asked your dad about that date yet?" She stopped smirking and I nodded. "He'll be home tomorrow afternoon and you want to go out Friday? I suggest you either talk to him or tell Ken no."

"He's going to flip his shit." Ollie said around the carrots he was eating. I gave him a look. "Sorry, Mom."

"You know, when you all were little, you would charge people money for swear words. Now you'd be broke if you had to pay." I said, remembering their childhood fondly. Freya laughed and stood up from the floor where she'd been doing yoga. She was a beautiful young girl and she knew it. Unfortunately for Happy, all the boys in town knew it to.

"Will you please talk to him for me, mom? He listens to you." Freya pouted. I shook my head with a laugh.

"He listens to me when I'm right or when he's indifferent. This? No, baby. If you want to go out on a date then you've got to ask him. It's a part of growing up." I said as she fluttered her eyelashes at me. Ollie chuckled.

"He already told you that you can't date until you're eighteen. I don't know why you even want to fight with him about it." Ollie had a point, of course he was always the voice of reason between the three kids. Happy said it was because he was the only boy. I disagreed but it was starting to seem as though he might have been right.

"It's a stupid rule! Ryder has had like four girlfriends and Thomas has been with Crystal for a year! It isn't fair!" Freya said, her blue eyes growing stormy. I sighed and wished I hadn't promised Happy I'd be on his side.

"Freya, neither of them are your siblings. What their parents let them do and what we let you all do is two different things." I said, tired of rehashing the same argument.

"No, you mean what Dad lets us do." Freya snapped before storming up the same stairs Hope had just gone up and slamming her own bedroom door. I looked over at Ollie.

"Don't worry, Mom. I'm not a crazy female. I'll be in the garage. Tank is outside, by the way." I nodded and moved to let the dog in. He looked just like Harley, Happy and I's first Cane Corso. The puppy bounded in to the house and looked around the living room for the kids. I laughed.

"Just stuck with me, buddy." He didn't seem to mind and brought me a rope toy to pull on. I was losing the tug of war when the doorbell rang. He dropped the rope and looked at the door for a second before bounding over to it and barking loudly.

"Tank, hush." I said, pushing him aside gently with my foot. I opened the door to see Sheriff Althea Jarry standing on the front porch. I raised my brow. "Official visit or social?"

"Social, promise." She said with a laugh as I let her inside. She wasn't in uniform so I figured she was probably telling the truth. I followed her down into the sunken living room and motioned for her to take a seat on the couch. She smiled and took a seat as Tank sniffed her suspiciously.

"What's up? Do you want a beer or tea or something?" She shook her head and scratched Tank's belly.

"No, I would like to know how you raise three kids without going crazy though. Ryder is doing everything he can to test our patience. He was smoking weed in front of the station today." Jarry groaned and rubbed at her temples. I nodded and leaned back.

"Well, considering who the father of my children is, I may have been crazy well before they were ever born. Seriously though, has he gotten worse since Lauren came around a few weeks ago?" It was a sore subject that had earned me an assault charge and a few nights in lock up. Lauren wizened up and dropped the charges before Happy got to her, but it still pissed me off.

"Like you wouldn't believe. Even Keira is fed up with his shit. She broke up with him because she walked in on him and Crystal." Jarry shook her head. I could see she was stressed.

"Want a joint?" She laughed and looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. I laughed and opened the coffee table drawer, grabbing a joint and a lighter out of the back. The kids knew they were there but they also knew better than to touch them. "Social call, remember?"

"Good point." She said, taking a hit and holding the smoke in for a moment before letting it out slowly. She nodded and looked at the glowing ember. "This is good, where'd you get it?"

"Juice's dispensary. I have a card for anxiety." I said with a smirk. She laughed and nodded before taking another hit. She offered it back to me and I shook my head, she needed it more than I did. "So, he was with Crystal? As in Thomas Teller's Crystal?"

"Yep, I don't think Thomas knows yet. I'm sure he will soon. Chibs has already talked to Jax about trying to get them into the ring to keep it out of school." Jarry said. I nodded, knowing it would be best for everyone if they didn't fight in school.

Thomas was already wearing a prospect kutte, following in Jax and Abel's footsteps and Ryder was waiting for his father's approval to get his own. So, a fight over a girl would not only end up getting them both suspended, it would also further decrease Ryder's chance of ever getting patched in. I felt my fist balling up before I even noticed it. I didn't blame Ryder as much as I blamed Lauren for screwing with his head.

Jarry and I spent the rest of the evening talking about family and the club until her cell went off around ten. She checked the caller id and groaned before answering it. She shook her head the whole time.

"I've got to go. They found a body out near the county line." She said, pushing off the couch. I nodded and rose to give her a hug.

"Catch you later, Sheriff." She laughed and nodded before heading out and going back to being the Sheriff for a while. I was more fond of the old lady Jarry than I was the Sheriff Jarry.

The kids were already sound asleep when I went to check on them. I made sure to make visual confirmation that Hope was really in her bed since she'd been so adamant about going to the party. She still seemed to know better than to sneak out though.

"You know washing the truck isn't going to make him change his mind, right?" Ollie asked Freya as she tried to think up a way to change Happy's mind over breakfast. She sighed and nodded. Hope laughed.

"You could always try waiting nine months and asking him when you turn eighteen." She said, just to get a rise out of Freya. Freya's eyes darkened and she opened her mouth to retaliate.

"Drop it, Freya. I'm tired of you two fighting." I said, dropping my spoon into the cereal bowl and pushing away from the table. Happy had been gone for over a week and I was at my wit's end.

"You two are ridiculous. You know she misses Dad but all you do is fight and bitch. Jesus Christ." Ollie growled, sounding more like Happy than ever. Embarrassingly, he was right. I did miss Happy. He was a better referee than I was and he was my partner. Not to mention I needed him in other ways.

"It's fine, Ollie. You all need to hurry or you're going to be late for school." I said, cleaning up the dishes. The girls called out their farewells to me on their way out of the door. Ollie hung back and gave me a hug.

"I love you, Mom." I hugged him back and kissed his cheek with a smile. He was a sweetheart and I truly hoped that wouldn't ever change. I knew he had a temper and he'd had hours of fighting practice with Happy but I just wanted him to stay my sweet boy forever.

"I love you to, Ollie. Go before they kill each other in the car." He laughed and nodded before kissing me on the cheek and patting Tank's head on his way out. I spent the rest of the morning cleaning and talking to Kiara on the phone. She and Juice were expecting their second child, which had come to a surprise to everyone since Loki was almost twelve now. She was on bed rest and none too happy about it.

"Hey baby." Happy growled as I walked out to the driveway. I smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him thoroughly. He put his hands on my hips and held me to him. I sighed, relieved to have him home. "Get inside before Jarry gets called out here for me fucking you in the driveway."

"So demanding." I purred, dragging him along by the hand. He kicked the front door closed with his foot and tossed his bag down in front of the hall closet. I shoved him back against the door and gripped the front of his shirt, tugging so he'd bend his neck down to me.

"Now who's demanding?" He growled before bending to my will and kissing me. I didn't even try to hold back a moan. He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled, exposing my neck to his greedy mouth. I felt his hardened member against my hip and smiled into his mouth.

"Not too tired from the road?" He shook his head and moved his lips and teeth to my throat. I had only been teasing and I knew how he would respond. We'd been together for almost nineteen years including the year we met while he was in Stockton. He wasn't showing any signs of slowing down yet.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my body that was still recovering from welcoming Happy home. He was lying on our bed when I walked back into the bedroom. He had managed to put his boxers back on before falling asleep. I smiled and pulled a light blanket over him. I knew he was tired.

"Where's Dad?" Freya asked as she nearly tripped over his bag that was still sitting just inside the front door. I looked up from the stove and put my finger to my lips. She nodded and left the door open for Ollie and Hope. Tank looked up from his spot on the floor but knew better than to go out of the front door.

"Hey loud mouth!" Happy said to Freya as he walked into the kitchen. He smelled freshly showered and had a fresh pair of jeans on. His skin was still a little pink from the hot water. Freya gave him a hug and kissed his cheek.

"Hey Daddy! How was the run?" She asked, grabbing an apple and biting into it with a smile in her eyes. He cracked his neck and shook his head.

"Long and tough. You behave like I told you?" She nodded and grinned. I stirred the marinara as Hope ran in and hugged Happy. Ollie rolled his eyes and closed the door.

"That's cool, Hope. I got the door." He grumbled. It threw me off for him to be in a sour mood. Happy kissed the top of Hope's blonde head before giving Ollie a nod. They rarely hugged anymore but they both told me it was just a part of growing up.

"What'd he say?" Hope asked Freya with a devilish smile. She was an instigator through and through. Freya almost choked on her apple as Happy raised his brow. I pulled a loaf of bread out of the cabinet and started making garlic toast to keep out of the imminent argument. Ollie seemed to like my idea and started helping me.

"What did I say about what, Freya?" He folded his arms across his bare chest and set his eyes on his oldest daughter. She bit her lip and I saw her fidgeting with the ring that hung from the chain around her neck.

"Dad, you remember my friend Ken, right? The honor student that helped me on a project last month?" Happy's nostrils flared at the mention of the boy's name. He neither nodded or made any noise to acknowledge the question, so Freya continued. "Well, he's a really nice guy and he asked me to go to the Fall Festival with him this weekend. Like, on a date."

"What day were you born, Freya?" Happy growled. Freya let out an exasperated sigh and put her hands on her hips.

"January 31st. Dad, please. I'm seventeen. It's during the day!" She glared at him when he laughed and shook his head.

"You think what time it is matters? Answer is no, Freya." He moved behind me and kissed the back of my neck. I knew it was his way of calming down and trying to avoid hurting her feelings. Freya was livid though. She didn't back down.

"Seriously, Dad? Why do you always treat me like a fucking kid? I've never been in real trouble before and I've always done what you and Mom asked me to. What would you have done if Abuelita told you that you couldn't date someone until you were eighteen?" I turned around quickly to try and stop Happy from reacting.

"I would have fucking listened, Freya! Im not raising your fucking kid and you're treated like one because you are one! I said no, mija." Even if the family didn't know Spanish, we would have gotten the message from his tone and darkness in his eyes. Freya stormed off and The bedroom door slammed moments later.

"Ollie, you want to go to the shop?" Happy asked, breathing heavy. Ollie looked at me and nodded.

"Yeah, sure, Pops. Let me grab my jacket." He said, shoving Hope up the stairs. I looked at Happy and frowned.

"Hap, I'm cooking, babe. It'll be done in less than an hour." He nodded and kissed my forehead briefly.

"We'll be back, Kat. I just need to talk to him, alone." I nodded and twisted my mouth. He gave me a reassuring smile and squeezed my hand. Ollie grabbed his helmet and went through the garage to get his bike. It was Happy's old Dyna and he was too young to actually ride it, legally, but we let him from time to time.

"Hope, don't let this burn, sweetie." I instructed as she came back in the kitchen she nodded and took the spoon from me. She was a better cook than I was anyways. I took a deep, calming breath and knocked lightly on Freya's door. It took her a couple minutes, but she finally came and opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"Why does he hate me, Mom?" Freya asked as she climbed onto her bed where Tank was waiting. I shook my head and sat down next to her.

"Freya, you know he doesn't hate you. He loves you more than life itself. When we found out about you, the doctors said that we'd lost you. It was terrible. He blamed himself even though we didn't even know I was pregnant and he didn't do anything wrong. Then, a couple months later, you proved the doctors wrong. He almost wrecked the truck he was in such a hurry to get you and I both checked out." I smiled at the memory of the look on his face. Freya wiped her eyes and looked to me to finish the story.

"As soon as you were born, you two were inseparable. You would never cry when he was around and always lit up when he came home. It went both ways, mija. Do you remember when he was locked up?" Freya nodded and I saw her eyes getting glassy again. I nodded and pulled her head to my shoulder.

"Then you remember talking to him and visiting him. You know he loves you, sweetie. He's just worried he's losing his baby girl. Sure, he doesn't want you knocked up but I think he's more worried about losing his spot as your number one." I said, smoothing her dark hair. She sat up and shook her head, looking at me with wide eyes.

"He's always going to be my daddy. He comes first. Always." Freya said, biting her lip. I nodded and kissed her nose.

"Tell him that, calmly, and he might be more open about dating. I'm not promising but it might help." I said with a smile. She dried her eyes and nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, Mom." She hugged me and we headed downstairs to find Hope dancing around the kitchen in a pink apron. We shared a secret smile before she noticed us. The three of us finished cooking just in time. Ollie and Happy walked inside looking none the worse than when they left.

Dinner went as well as could be expected. Freya was deep in thought, Hope was chatty, Ollie was neutral and Happy was quiet, as per usual. It wasn't as tense as it could have been but I was looking forward to the air being cleared. Hope offered to help with dishes while Ollie headed upstairs to draw. Freya gave her sister a thankful smile before following their father out to the garage.

"What'd you say to her?" Happy asked as he crawled over me and tossed my magazine into the floor. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head. He smirked and kissed my forehead. I shook my head again and he kissed my nose. I laughed and he kissed my lips.

"How did it turn out?" I asked as he laced his fingers in with mine. He grinned and kissed the side of my neck.

"She's bringing the kid by the party Friday. Told her if he can hold up then she can go to the festival with him Friday as long as Ollie and Hope ride with her and he meets them there." I grabbed his chin and narrowed my eyes at him.

"The party at the clubhouse? Really, Happy?" He shrugged and leaned back, untying the front of my silk robe.

"She agreed to it." He said, brushing it off and kissing my stomach. I laughed at the tickle of his goatee on my skin. He shot me a playful glare and I tried to hide my laugh. He moved his mouth to more sensitive places and I dropped the subject quickly.

FRIDAY NIGHT

"Mom, do I look good?" Freya asked as she walked out of her bathroom to show me her third outfit. It was a tight pair of jeans and a crop top. I shook my head and lowered Tank off my lap as I headed for her closet. I grabbed a blue TM shirt with silver writing and passed it over to her. She nodded and pulled it on, smiling and obviously feeling more comfortable. She grabbed her leather jacket and pulled it on before doing a little spin.

"You love that jacket, don't you?" I asked with a laugh. It had been a present for her sixteenth birthday. It was a soft, leather moto jacket that had the reaper on the back and our last name on a bottom rocker. She was required to wear it at rallies, per Happy, but she wore it more often that not. She looked at her arms that she stretched out in front of her and nodded with a huge smile.

"Do you think Dad will let me ride with him?" I laughed and nodded as she hurried downstairs to catch him before he left. Hope was in the living room, pouting. I laughed and hugged her to me.

"You might as well quit pouting, baby girl. Loki is going to be there so you two can watch a movie and hang out together." I said, kissing her forehead. We had strict rules that the girls didn't come to the parties until they were sixteen. It was for both their own good as well as the party goers. By sixteen, we expected them to be responsible enough to avoid the hang arounds but even then, they didn't go unless I was there to and we always left before things got weird.

"You might want to reintroduce Ken to your father, Freya." I smiled and gave him a nod as Ken walked over from his truck. Freya nodded and met him with a hug. I turned to head into the clubhouse to give Happy a heads up. On my way inside, I noticed Abel watching Freya and Ken with a very Jax like smirk. It was always the won Jax had when he was bout to beat the hell out of someone. I shook the thought out of my head, knowing better than to think Abel would do anything. He had no reason to.

"Hey, your daughter and her friend are about to come in. Be nice." I said, interrupting the pool game he had going with Jax. The clubhouse door flew open and Abel stormed through the clubhouse. Everyone grew quiet as Freya and Ken walked in behind him. Happy and Jax shared a look before Jax headed off after Abel. He was almost twenty-one and a grow man but it was unlike him to get angry this early into the night.

"Dad, this is Ken Chambers. Ken, this is my dad, Happy." Freya seemed beyond nervous and Happy nodded. Ken swallowed hard and put out his hand as a gesture of respect. Happy shook it out of obligation.

"Want a beer?" Happy asked. Most people would think he was being friendly but I heard the challenge in his voice. Ken hesitated and shook his head. "Good answer. Keep it that way."

"Okay, well, that was great. See you around, Daddy." Freya stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. He nodded and reciprocated, never taking his eyes off Ken. She led Ken back outside and as soon as the door closed, Happy called a prospect over.

"Make sure they don't go to any dark corners. He touches her anywhere inappropriate and you shoot him." I smacked Happy's arm and shook my head. He growled. "Fine, don't shoot him call me so I can shoot him. That better, Katerina?"

"Not really but fine." I said, shaking my head. He sent the prospect on his way before looking down the dorm hall. He seemed to be thinking a million things at once.

"He seem pissed when that boy showed up?" Happy asked, obviously asking about Abel. I opened my mouth and closed it again. He hadn't exactly seemed angry but definitely off.

"Well, he had the whole Teller smirk. The one Jax gets before going in the ring or going on certain jobs." Happy nodded slowly but didn't share what he was thinking. I twisted my mouth and looked down the hall for a minute before heading over to the bar.

"Dad!" Ollie hurried into the clubhouse just as I was grabbing my keys and getting off Happy's lap. He all but threw me off of him and hurried outside. I scowled but followed him quickly. Abel had Ken against the side of Ken's truck and a knife at his throat. Freya was nearby with Ollie holding her back. Happy pulled Abel off quickly.

"What happened?" He barked at his newly patched brother. Abel had a split lip and spit towards Ken. Freya stopped fighting and walked to Abel's side.

"Prick was trying to cop a feel and she told him no. He tried again so I stepped in." Abel said, putting his arm around Freya's shoulders. She leaned in to him but Happy had other things on his mind. He nodded and turned around, knocking the kid off his feet with a left hook to his cheek. He knelt down and pulled him to his feet, slamming his back against the trucks door.

"Show up around my daughter again and it'll be the last thing you do." Happy growled before shoving him again and stepping back. I had not seen a car leave the lot that fast in years. Happy dug his keys out of his pocket and looked at Freya and Abel. He just nodded towards the bike and headed off. I watched Freya give Abel a small smile and a hug before jogging over and getting on the bike with her father.

"Let's go, Ma." Ollie held his hand out for my keys and I laughed, ruffling his dark hair. He shrugged.

"Nice try, kiddo." I got in the car with a sneaking suspicion the SAMCRO family might get even closer knit in the years to come. The younger generation had stuck together since diapers and it seemed that Abel and Freya may not be just partners in crime much longer.


	15. Butterflies

I stood in front of my floor length mirror and blinked my eyes so my lashes hit the mascara wand in a fan. My dress was royal blue with silver embroidery across the chest and a flare at the bottom. Hope was smiling as she watched me get ready from my bed. I felt butterflies in my stomach and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

"Are you excited?" Hope asked as I twisted the lid back on my lip gloss. I nodded and moved back to my dresser to load up my purse.

"I am, yeah. I really didn't think I would care anything about prom but here we are." I said with a nervous laugh. Hope nodded as Ollie walked in.

"Your date is downstairs with Mom and Dad. I still don't know why you're going with him." Ollie leaned back against my dresser and folded his arms across his chest. I shook my head and zipped my bag.

"Ollie, its prom, I'm not marrying him. You don't even know him." I said, stepping into my shoes. Hope shrugged.

"Ollie doesn't care who he is if he isn't Abel." Hope hit the nail on the head and called Ollie out. Ever since I turned eighteen, he'd been trying to talk me into dating Abel. He swore up and down that Abel liked me like that but I knew I wasn't his time. We were just friends.

"Yeah, well, he's a load better than the shitty guys you've been dating." Ollie said before leaving the room. I rolled my eyes and watched Hope hitch her shoulder noncommittally.

"Daddy, quit trying to scare Heath. We're going to prom, not Vegas and getting hitched." I said, kissing him on the cheek as I walked into the living room. He grunted and looked me over.

"You look too much like your Ma, mija. You do what I told you to?" I sighed and nodded with a smile. He agreed to let me go to prom as long as I had a knife on me. It was strapped to my inner thigh so it didn't show through the dress. He nodded, satisfied I would be protected and kissed my forehead. Mom smiled and waddled over to me. She six months in to her surprise pregnancy and extremely hormonal.

"My baby girl, you're so beautiful. Have fun tonight, okay?" She was smiling through her tears as she hugged me. I nodded and hugged her back carefully.

"She needs to be home by eleven." Ollie said as he glared at Heath. I saw Dad smirk and nod in agreement. I knew there was no point in arguing with either of them.

"No problem. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Lowman." Heath extended his hand out to my dad who shook it quickly. Mom was on his arm and kissed his cheek, no doubt rewarding him for being civil. I absolutely loved my parents but Dad scared the shit out of anyone outside of the club.

"Let's go, Heath, we're gonna be late." I took his hand and led him towards the front door. Tank was sitting in the way and growled at Heath. "Tank, go on."

"That was intense. Is your dad always like that?" Heath said as he got in the drivers seat of his car. I laughed and nodded with a smile.

"With anyone outside the family, yeah. He's just protective. It's in his nature." I explained proudly. It used to get on my nerves but I knew it was his way of showing he loved us.

"My parents want us to stop by the restaurant before we go to prom, that okay?" Heath asked, holding my hand and rubbing his thumb over it. It was weird for me to hold hands in the car since I was used to shifting gears or the guy doing the same thing.

"That's fine. They own that Italian place that just opened, right?" I remembered him mentioning it at one point or another. He nodded and pulled into a spot right out front. I scanned the lot out of habit before getting out of the car.

"Mom, this is Freya Lowman. Freya, this is my mom Tammy." Heath introduced me to a slender woman with glasses and greying hair. She was probably pretty back in her younger years. I smiled and offered her my hand. She took it with a tight smile but she was looking at Heath, not me.

"Lowman, your father in that motorcycle gang?" A man asked as Tammy dropped my hand. I shook my head with a forced smile.

"He's in the Sons of Anarchy, it's a club." I said proudly. Heath and his family were fairly new to town so I gave them a pass on the comment. Heath took my hand and told his parents about the prom theme and that we would be eating there. I zoned out and spun my reaper ring with my thumb.

"That's an interesting ring, Freya." Tammy's brow was raised when I looked up at her. I nodded with a smile.

"Thanks, my Dad had it made for me a few years ago. I guess he wanted his back. They're the same, mine is just a little smaller." I held my hand out for her to look at it but she just nodded and gave Heath a look.

"Let's go, we'll be late." Heath said with a nod. I swallowed hard and twisted my mouth before following him out to the car. All the butterflies seemed to have died off. "You ready?"

"Yeah. Sure." I buckled the seat belt and stared out of the windshield, keeping both my hands in my lap. Heath glanced over at me a couple times but never said anything. The banquet hall of the civic center had been converted to what looked like a scene out of some cheap romance movie. The lights were dim and there were silky looking cloths hanging in the corners.

We danced to a few songs before milling around and talking to his friends. I smiled and stayed mostly silent, uninterested in the classmates I'd known since elementary school. I didn't really get along with any of them. My friends didn't come to prom. What few friends I had that weren't club kids anyways.

"I'm going to get some air." I told Heath as the room started closing in on me. He looked over at me and nodded nonchalantly. I headed for the door, rummaging through my purse for a cigarette and a lighter. I groaned when I found one but not the other.

"Need a light?" I almost jumped out of my skin and blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't tripping on some spiked punch. He held the lighter out to me with a smirk.

"What are you doing here, Abel?" I passed his zippo back over to him and took a good drag, relieved to have the nicotine wash over me. He shrugged and lit his own cigarette.

"Ollie told me you'd probably get bored. Thought I'd hang around just in case." I coughed smoke out of my lungs from surprise and shook my head.

"You sure you didn't get babysitter duty?" I growled, wondering if Dad sent him to watch me. It would have made more since to send Thomas since he looked more like a student.

"Nah, I'm sure. How's it going?" He asked, nodding towards the doors I'd escaped out of. I opened my mouth to lie but all that came out was a laugh.

"It's horrible and I'm starving. All they have is weird little sandwiches." I said in spite of myself. Abel nodded and flipped his cigarette away.

"Let's go then. We can get some burgers or something." He was smiling but I could tell he was serious. I laughed and shook my head.

"I can't ride in this and I have a date inside, Abel." I felt the butterflies start up again for some weird reason. He nodded and opened the door for me. I frowned and threw my cigarette down and headed inside. Abel didn't leave like I thought he would. He followed me inside.

"Freya? What's going on, you okay?" Heath looked at Abel and narrowed his eyes. I glanced at the man I'd known since I was born and nodded.

"I'm good but I can't be here. This isn't me. I'll pay you back for the tickets." I offered. Heath sighed and shook his head.

"It's fine, Freya. I should have known I didn't stand a chance with you. Thanks for coming with me though." Heath seemed disappointed but he wasn't the type to cause a scene. I gave him a quick hug before turning to Abel.

"Give me five minutes and I'll meet you outside." I said with the butterflies starting back up again. He nodded and headed out as some chaperones started heading towards us. I ducked into the restroom.

"Damn, Freya. Your dad is gonna kill me for letting you on my bike in that. Wondered where your tattoo went." Abel said with a smirk as I walked out of the building. I'd used my knife to cut the dress to my thighs and washed off the makeup I had to put over my lion tattoo on my shoulder. I shoved the bottom of the ruined dress into the garbage and took his helmet.

"Yeah, I remember you promising me burgers?" He laughed and started the bike. It was challenging to get on behind him in the dress, even altered, but I managed it. We headed back towards town and I knew we were going to the diner. Their burgers were the best around.

"You're beautiful, Freya. Don't know if I've told you that in a while." Abel said as I stole one of his fries. I blushed and shook my head.

"I don't know if you ever have. Thanks though." I wondered if my cheeks could catch fire from blushing. He leaned back against the booth and smirked.

"You're welcome. What time are you supposed to be home?" Abel asked, twisting his "SON" ring. I raised my brow, wondering what he was thinking and why he was asking.

"Eleven." I answered, biting my bottom lip. I'd spent countless hours around Abel but recently I'd found myself blushing and embarrassed around him. He nodded and pulled out his wallet to pay.

"I've got it, Abel." He shook his head and stood up.

"Let's go. I want to show you something." He held his hand out for mine and I took it with a grin. I couldn't deny that he was handsome but I also knew he went through a lot of girls since he'd gotten his top rocker and colors.

We rode out towards the mountains and I wished I'd worn my leather jacket to the prom. It didn't exactly go with my dress but riding at this time of night chilled me to the bone. Abel pulled off onto the shoulder after a few miles of climbing the mountain and shut the bike off. He noticed me shivering and gave me a hoodie out of his saddle bag. I smiled and wrapped myself up in it.

"This is beautiful. How'd you find it?" I asked, lookout out over Charming. He laughed and I turned back to look at him.

"I didn't. Happy drug me out here a few months ago." My eyes widened and he nodded. "After that night you brought that kid to a party. Happy busted into my dorm the next morning and told me I was going to follow him or he was going to make sure Dad and Tara never found my body."

"Sounds like Dad. Why did he bring you here?" I asked, leaning into him for warmth. He put an arm around me and ran his hand over my back.

"He said this is where he proposed to your mom a few days after he got out of Stockton. He said he knew I liked you and if I was ever going to do anything about it I had to be sure and drop all the other shit." He let me go so I could turn around and gape at him. He shrugged and cupped my face with both his hands.

"So you like me?" I asked, butterflies storming in my stomach and pushing me closer to him. He laughed and shook his head.

"Freya, I've loved you since I was fifteen." He leaned in and kissed me. It felt like the first time all over again.

"You taught me how to kiss when you were fifteen." I said with a shy smile. He laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm a good teacher." He kissed me again and I ran my hands through his short hair, losing myself in him. The way he smelled, the sound of his breathing and the feel of his lips and tongue made everything else disappear. The butterflies in my stomach turned into fireworks as we made out hotter and heavier. He pulled back and kissed my lips gently.

"It's almost eleven." He groaned. I laughed and nodded, not wanting to get him killed just yet.

"Yeah, I may turn into a pumpkin." I said as we walked back to his bike. He laughed and shook his head.

"More worried about your dad smashing my gourd. Freya, I want to see where this goes. I only want you." Abel said, offering me his helmet. I smiled and leaned forward, kissing him again.

"You're the only one who can have me, Abel." He smiled and kissed me again before we finally started towards home at five until eleven. I pressed my cheek against the back of his kutte and held on to him a little tighter.

A/N I know it's delayed and short. I've been working a lot of overtime and not feeling very creative. Hope you liked it all the same :)


	16. GSW

"What the hell, Freya?" Dad opened the front door as I reached for it. Abel was still sitting out on the road, making sure I got inside okay. I looked up at my dad and felt my cheeks go red. He pointed at Abel and motioned for him to get in the house.

"Dad, calm down. It's a long story." I said with a laugh. I could only imagine what he thought when I came home with my dress cut up and with Abel instead of Heath. He grunted, unamused. Abel bounced up the front steps and walked inside with a smile. Dad tossed the door closed and stared at it for a minute before turning towards us.

"Why is your dress cut?" He growled, looking from me to Abel. Abel was still smiling and it wasn't really helping Dad's mood. I hitched my shoulder.

"Would you prefer I ride with a floor length dress and it get caught in the back wheel and we wreck?" I asked. He glared harder and I signed. "I cut it so I could ride with Abel. I was starving and bored at the prom."

"Why were you there, Abel?" He turned his glare from me to Abel. Abel didn't say anything, he and Dad just stared at each other and ended up nodding a couple minutes later. Obviously they understood one another enough to get on with the questioning.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Daddy." I kissed both of his cheeks before giving Abel a smile and heading up the stairs. I changed into sleep shorts and a tank quickly before sneaking back towards the living room. I squatted down on the steps and listened in on Abel and Dad's conversation.

"Hap, chill out. I didn't do anything. We are at the diner and rode out to the overlook." Abel said with a sigh.

"You couldn't have given me a heads up that my daughter was with you? What happened to staying away from her, Abel?" I frowned, wondering who decided he was going to stay away from me.

"What happened was me never agreeing to that shit. Happy, I grew up with her. This isn't about my dick or what she can give me. This is about me loving her and hoping she's just crazy enough to love me." Abel started sounding more confident and I couldn't help giggle.

"Just come on out here, I knew you were there, brat." Dad seemed a little more relaxed as I appeared with a bright smile. He shook his head and kissed the top of my head. "You two make sense, I guess. Just know if you hurt her I won't hesitate to castrate you."

"Yeah, I got it Hap. I'm not going to." Abel was smiling again and Dad nodded. He looked from Abel to me and then rolled his eyes.

"Be out of my house by midnight and keep your hands to yourself. Your Ma isn't going to shut up about this. I hate when she's right." Dad grumbled as he headed down the hall to their room. Abel chuckled and I suddenly felt shy around him.

"That was a lot less bloody than I thought it would be." Abel said, scratching Tank behind the ears. I nodded and bit my lip nervously. I didn't know where this went now. I'd dated other guys, sure, but this wasn't the same. Not only was I with a club member, I was with someone I'd known my whole life.

"Uh, Abel, I need to tell you something before you decide on dating me or not." My mouth felt like sand paper and my stomach was doing flips.

"I already decided but what did you want to tell me, Freya?" Abel stood up from squatting in front of Tank and looked at me curiously. I opened my mouth a couple times but couldn't find the words easily.

"I never, I mean I haven't, I know you," I was tripping over my words as he walked over to me. He brought his forehead down to mine and smiled again, taking my hand in his.

"Freya, it's okay. It's not a bad thing. I don't want to rush this." He squeezed my hand and gave me a small kiss. I still felt shy and I wondered if he was really okay with it. Nodded and kissed him again. Every time our lips touched, I felt tingles on my arms and the back of my neck. I deepened the kiss right before the chaos erupted. Glass blew out of the windows and Abel knocked me down to the ground, covering me completely with his own body as the bullets rained down around us.

I don't know why I didn't scream. I could hear either Mom or Hope screaming, but I couldn't tell which. Abel had his gun drawn, firing blind rounds back. I kept my head down and covered my ears to keep them from ringing. Finally, the shooting stopped. Abel's phone was vibrating against my back as Dad came rushing into the living room. I watched his face go pale.

"Abel, call 911. Freya look at me, mija. You're going to be okay." I didn't know what he was talking about. I looked down and realized my stomach felt wet. I put my hand over the wetness. That's when. The pain started. It felt like my body was on fire. Abel was yelling on the phone as Dad pulled me into his arms carefully. I felt lightheaded and cold.

"Mija, look at me, baby. Breathe, okay? You're gonna be okay." Dad looked scared for the first time in my life. I nodded slowly and forced myself to keep my eyes open. Abel appeared next to Dad and gave me a forced smile.

"Dad, I'm cold." I said, feeling myself shiver. He nodded and held me tighter as Ollie came down the stairs with a blanket. I tried to give him a smile but it only made me cough. He frowned and squeezed my hand reassuringly. I saw the flashing lights before I heard the sirens. Abel opened the door as the responders rushed in. Mom was hugging Hope and forcing her not to watch as they loaded me on the stretcher.

"I'll follow you, Hap. Mom is on her way to St. Thomas and Dad is calling everybody else." Abel was already running to his motorcycle by the time I turned my head to look at him. Mom, Ollie and Hope we're getting into Dad's truck. I gripped Dad's hand, thankful that he wasn't leaving me.

"It hurts, Dad." I winced as a paramedic applied pressure to the wound. Dad looked ready to slice the guys throat. I felt tears start falling down my cheeks and my stomach hurt more and more with every sob. He leaned forward and brushed my hair out of my face.

"Remember what I told you when we were doing your tattoo? What it's for?" I smiled and nodded, remembering him tell me how it's for strength and loyalty. Ollie and Hope we're both planning on getting lion tattoos eventually as well.

"I'm trying to be strong, Dad." I bit my bottom lip and tried to quit crying. He nodded and rubbed my arm.

"You're doing good, mija. You're doing good." Dad said with a nod. His eyes were a lighter brown than usual and I knew he was scared. That probably scared me more than the bullet wound. We made it to St. Thomas and they wheeled me into surgery quickly.

"Hey sweetie, I'll be right here the whole time, okay?" Tara said as she walked up next to me. I smiled as the room got fuzzy from the anesthesia. I wanted to say hi but I never got the word out.

There were beeps and the sound of rain on the windows as I came around in my recovery room. Ollie was asleep in an uncomfortable looking position and Hope was sprawled out on the floor. It made me nauseous to think about how dirty the floor was. My stomach felt sore but I assumed one of my iv's had pain medication pumping into my veins.

"Ollie," I struggled to speak and my throat felt like it was on fire. He moved a little but it wasn't until I choked out his name again that he woke up and realized I was awake. He scrambled out of the chair and to my bed side. I smiled and tried to look like I wasn't shot in the stomach earlier.

"Hey, you need anything? Water? Ice chips?" He kissed my forehead and looked me over. I nodded and he pressed the red button on the wall behind me. A nurse appeared a couple minutes later. "Can you get her some water and ice chips?"

"Sure, I'm going to let the doctor know you're awake. He wanted to check on you as soon as you woke up." Ollie and I shared a look and I shook my head. The nurse didn't know what to think about our reaction, so she just left.

"By doctor she probably means cop." Ollie said, rubbing the back of his neck like our Dad did when he was thinking or stressed. I nodded. "I'm gonna step out and call Dad real quick. He went to the clubhouse for church when you stabilized."

"Okay." I didn't have much else to say even if I felt like it. The hit on our house was no small matter. Dad always made sure as few people as possible knew where we lived. We had mail delivered to a P.O. Box and our school records showed TM as our home address. It was his way of keeping us safe. Something obviously went wrong.

"Freya, I'm Doctor Bayer. How are you feeling?" A middle aged man with thinning black hair asked as he walked in ahead of the nurse. I waited until I sipped some water to answer him.

"Been better but fine considering." I poured some ice into my mouth and looked over as Hope woke up. She climbed to her feet only to come sit on the bed beside me, arms crossed over her chest.

"My mother told you not to bother Freya without her here." She growled, It was funny how she looked like Mom but had Dad's temper. Her soft features fooled some people into thinking she was the sweet one.

"I understand that Mrs. Lowman wants to be here but she needs to rest and Freya is eighteen." The doctor was saying as the door opened again. Ollie followed Dad inside and Abel brought up the rear.

"Shoulda got Mom. Now you're screwed. I'll go get her." Hope said with a giggle. She was right. Dad looked pissed.

"Where's Tara? She's her doctor, not you. You sewed her up. That's where your job ends." Dad growled as he came over to check on me. He pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead as Abel smiled at me from a few feet away.

"Mr. Lowman, I don't tell you how to change a tire so you don't need to tell me how to take care of patients. Your daughter suffered a GSW to her abdomen. I think she needs me and not a pediatric surgeon." The doctor must have had balls of steel to talk to Dad like that, especially with his already pissed off mood.

"Welcome to the party, Tara." I grumbled as she walked into the room. It was feeling more and more crowded by the minute. I never liked tight spaces or crowds, which is why I normally hated lock downs.

"Doctor Bayer, Margaret took you off this patient. I'll brief you on her status at the end of your shift if you want." Tara snapped. She was the senior surgeon on staff, even if her specialty was pediatric. I noticed the way Abel stood close to her until the other doctor left, ready to come to her aid. I liked that about him.

"How bad is it?" I asked after some more ice. She closed the door and it seemed to get even stuffier in the room.

"It missed any major organs, so that's good. You're going to be sore for a while and I don't want you doing any heavy lifting or strenuous activities. You lost quite a bit of blood so you're staying a couple more days so we can make sure you're okay." She was smiling and it made me feel a little better.

"Thank you, Tara. Can I talk to my parents for a minute before the cops come in here?" I asked, locking eyes with my mom who was at the door. Tara smiled and nodded before squeezing my shoulder and heading out of the room. Ollie wrapped an arm around Hope's shoulders and led her out to the hall. Abel paused and kissed my forehead before leaving and closing the door behind him. I could see the back of his kutte through the window as he watched the hall.

"Baby, I'm so sorry." Mom said, tears falling rapidly. I shook my head and held out my arms for a hug. She sobbed into my shoulder and I fought my own tears back. After a couple minutes, her tears subsided and she kissed my cheek before sitting in the chair Dad had pulled over for her.

"It's not your fault, Mom. It's not yours either, Daddy." I could tell he wasn't convinced. He brushed my hair out of my face and nodded.

"We're going to figure out who did this, mija. This never should have happened to you. I'm sorry baby." His face was hard but the truth was in his eyes. I could see the sadness there. I shook my head and took his hand.

"Daddy, if finding who did this means you or anyone else has to go inside or get hurt then I don't want you to. It's not worth it." His eyes flashed with rage as he shook his head.

"Mija, don't worry about it." He tried to smile but I didn't buy it for a second. "Abel is going to stay here with you when I'm not here. You need anything, you ask. Don't try to be independent right now."

"Okay, Daddy. I love you." He kissed my forehead and nodded with a more believable smile.

"I love you, mija." Mom gave me a sad smile as Dad left the room. I knew he'd look for revenge. It's who he is. I sighed and just hoped there wouldn't be any blowback.

A/N: so much for the one shots lol this will continue for a little bit and then we will get back on track for some Ollie POV and then Hope's.


	17. Help

**Ollie**

"Mom! Seriously, it's five in the morning!" I growled, pulling my pillow over my head to block out Harry's screaming. He was nearly six months old now and I felt like I hadn't slept in over a year. I knew Dad being locked up was hard on her but I was tired of getting up with my baby brother.

"I've got him." Hope said, walking in with our little brother in her arms. I rubbed both my palms up and down over my face before shaking my head.

"When the hell is Dad coming home?" I asked, already knowing the answer. He was coming home in three months and twenty one days, exactly a year since getting picked up for assault. Mom tried to tell us there wasn't anything more to it, but we all knew that it was the only thing the cops could prove.

"Eighty-three days. Mom said that's why Freya won't come home. She blames herself." Hope said, letting Harry try to hold his own bottle. I scoffed and shook my head.

"Nah, she won't come home because she's playing house with Abel. You know he got her a puppy?" I asked, resenting their relationship for having taken my big sister away when Dad was gone to. Hope nodded.

"I helped him pick her out. She's adorable." Hope said with a bright smile. I rolled my eyes and leaned back on the wall, grabbing my cigarettes out of my night stand. "You're not supposed to smoke inside or around Harry."

"Then go somewhere else and I'll open a window." I said with a shrug. Hope rolled her eyes and walked out, bad mouthing me to our baby brother. I opened the window and crawled out onto the rooftop.

Everyone kept saying how much I'd changed since Dad went inside. Jax, Juice, Rat and even Chibs had told me I didn't seem the same anymore. Uncle Tig and Dad were inside so I didn't really get their opinions on it. I didn't know what they expected though. Without Dad at home, it was my job to keep everyone safe. I raised my brow at the car pulling into the driveway below me.

"What are you doing here?" I called down to my older sister. She narrowed her eyes at me and stepped into the yard.

"I was coming to talk to you, Ollie. Why the hell are you on the roof?" She called up to me. I held up my cigarette and she nodded. "Well get down here, I don't feel like yelling."

I rolled my eyes and went back through my window and down the stairs. Freya had her hood pulled up and a pair of sunglasses on. The sun was just coming up over the horizon. The only reason she'd need glasses is if she got hurt.

"Abel hurt you, Freya?" I asked, ready to kick his ass. She shook her head and pulled me towards her car.

"Jesus, no! He hasn't seen it. I just need you to be with me when he does see me. You can't let him over react. Ollie, please." Freya said, squeezing my hand. I shook my head and pushed my hair back.

"Freya, you're my sister. You don't think I'm going to over react? Let me sit it." I growled, still not convinced Abel didn't do it. She groaned and took her sunglasses off, then the hood of her jacket. She had a black eye and dark bruises around her neck. I reached towards her neck and she flinched, pulling back.

"He was drunk, okay? I don't think he even knew it was me. I was trying to calm him down and he flipped out." Freya said, pulling the hood back up. Now that I'd seen her neck, it didn't really do much to hide the bruise.

"Ryder? He did this shit to you?" I snapped, knowing when she said drunk that she probably meant Ryder. She lifted a shoulder and I punched the back of my truck bed. "I'm going to kill him."

"No, you're not. We've got to help him, Ollie. That's why I need you with me to talk to Abel. Ryder messed up. We've got to get him out of Charming." Freya said, looking around as if someone could over hear us.

"If he messed up that bad then the club can get him out of Charming. I'm not helping that asshole." I said, shaking my head and turning to go back inside. I heard Freya moving towards me and turned around just in time to dodge the punch she'd aimed for the back of my shoulder. "Damnit! What?"

"He needs to get in rehab, okay? He owes these guys money for crank and he's all strung out on it. You know the club doesn't tolerate that shit. I've got the money for the crank and found somewhere that takes his insurance but we've got to get him there tonight." Freya said as I dropped her wrist that I'd caught. I groaned and wondered what to do for a moment. Finally, I settled on the fact that despite everything, Ryder was family.

"Fine, can I at least put clothes on?" I asked, motioning towards my pajama pants. Freya nodded and walked back towards her car. I sighed, wishing that I could just go back to sleep.

"Where are you going?" Hope asked as I passed her coming out of Harry's nursery. I looked down at my boots and back up at her.

"Prospect stuff. Don't tell Mom yet. I don't want her to know I'm trying to prospect yet." I knew if it involved the club, Hope would keep her mouth shut. She nodded and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I pet Tank on my way out of the door, hoping he wouldn't bark when my truck started.

"You ready?" Freya asked, her sunglasses back in place. I nodded and hopped into my truck, starting it up and grinning at the loud exhaust notes. The neighbors hated my truck and our bikes but knew nothing could really be done about them. Freya backed her Mustang out of the driveway and I followed closely behind her.

It didn't take long until we were turning into Abel's place. He lived about half the distance from our house to the garage so it hardly took ten minutes. I noticed the lights were already on in the house and wondered if Freya had called him ahead of time or if he'd been up worried all night. Depending on which it was, I was either headed into a grumpy Abel's house or a pissed Abel's house.

"What the hell are you doing here?" That answered my question. Abel was shirtless and his jeans were hanging a couple inches below the waist of his boxers. I put my hands up in surrender and shook my head.

"She told me to come with and the basics. I don't know shit else." I said, not looking for a fight from probably the club's third best fighter. He scoffed and threw the door to his house open as Freya climbed out of her Mustang. I stayed close to the door and listened in shamelessly.

"I'm sorry, Abel. My phone got busted and I was just trying to figure out how to tell you and what to do. He needs help." Freya said. I realized that her apologies to Abel sounded less like she was looking for forgiveness and more like she was looking for understanding. I was proud my sister wasn't some push over with Abel.

"He fucking choked you, Freya. The only help he needs is two rounds in the back of the head. No. I'm not helping that piece of shit." Abel said before throwing the door open again and storming inside. He turned around and pointed at my sister.

"I've never and will never lay a damn hand on you like that. That little prick isn't going to get away with it. He's not the only damn person with family problems. My mother was a fucking drug addict who almost killed me with crank. You don't see me chocking women." He was full on yelling now and I felt myself getting tense.

"Don't yell at her, man. She's just trying to do the right thing." I said, not believing a word I said. I honestly agreed with Abel but Freya was my sister and we Lowman's stuck together.

"Damnit, Ollie. Don't tell me that shit doesn't piss you off." Abel said, throwing his shoulder holster on. I nodded and meant it.

"It does but if Freya says she wants to get him help then we should at least try. She is the one with a black eye and sore neck." I said, convincing myself in the process. Freya gave me a little smile to say thanks and nodded.

"He's right, Abel. Please, babe. He needs help not a shallow grave." Freya said, walking towards Abel. He sighed and pulled her into his arms. They started kissing and I rolled my eyes, looking in any direction but theirs.

"Yeah, awesome, hug hug kiss kiss, can we go help this prick so I can get some sleep?" I said with a gag. Freya shot me the bird but nodded all the same. "Do we even know where he is?"

"He's up at the cabin. The clinic is in Oakland so we shouldn't have to get him too far. I'll ride with Abel and you follow us, okay?" I nodded as Abel handed me a shotgun. "Really?"

"What, Freya? You may think he needs help and I'll try it your way but I'm not getting one of you killed. For the record, this idea sucks and if anything goes wrong I'm on record saying I disagree with it." Abel said as we walked out to the driveway. The sun was casting a pinkish orange glow on everything and I wondered how it could be so pretty with everything we were about to try and deal with.

We rolled up to the cabin and I felt a rush flowing through me. It was the first time I'd really been in a dangerous situation or at least the first time I'd put myself in one. I got out of the truck and looked over at Abel who was telling Freya to stay back. He didn't see Ryder standing in the doorway with a gun.

"Put it down. Now, Ryder!" I yelled, the rush of energy building and building. Abel pushed Freya behind him and pulled his own gun, aiming it at Ryder. I kept the shot gun aimed at him as Abel tried to talk him down.

"Look, she wants to get you some help, okay? I'm not here to kill you, unfortunately. We'll pay off whatever you owe and you can just chill at the clinic and get better, okay? Put the gun down, Ryder. We're family." Abel said. Ryder laughed and shook his head.

"Family? I'm a bastard that my own mother didn't want enough to stay. You think Chibs wants me around? Go back to your club and family. Just leave me alone!" Ryder yelled, shooting a round up into the air. I knew the situation wasn't going to get any better if we didn't get that gun away from him.

"Ryder! You are family! Come on, just come with us." Freya said, getting his attention moved to her instead of Abel. He moved the gun towards up and I could see it turning not towards Abel and Freya but towards himself. I made my move and hoped to come out with the same number of holes I started with.

I lunged forward, grabbing his arm and twisting it back. He was taken off guard and dropped the gun before swinging out for my head with his left hand. I took a hit to my jaw but that was it. After that, Abel was there holding his other arm. Freya was breathing rapidly and I could tell she was nervous. Ever since she'd gotten shot, she was understandably shy of gunshots.

"Ryder, we're doing this for you, not to you, okay?" Freya said as she turned around in the passenger seat to look at Ryder. Abel was sitting in the back with him, ready to subdue him if the need arose.

"I don't want your help." He growled, staring at me in the rearview mirror. I shrugged my shoulders.

"We didn't really want to help but my sister is a pain in the ass, so here we are." I said honestly. He rolled his eyes and kicked the back of my seat out of frustration.

After getting some help from a couple nurses, Ryder was finally inside the clinic. Freya also went inside to do paperwork as Abel and I smoked and talked about how not to tell the club about what we'd just done.

"They'll find out eventually. You thought about prospecting soon? You're almost seventeen. Start then and you might have a patch by eighteen." Abel said, exhaling a trail of smoke. I nodded, wondering if he knew just how bad I wanted that, especially after today. "Think about it. You want to do it and I'll sponsor you."

"Let's go." Freya said as she came out of the clinic. Abel gave me a wink and stomped out his cigarette butte. "Dad would flip his shit if he found out about this."

"When's he getting out?" Abel asked, also knowing the answer before he asked it. I looked back at Freya and we spoke in unison.

"Eighty-three days." Abel chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's eighty-three days to figure out how to tell him about everything then." Abel said. I looked at him in the passenger seat and raised my brow. He just gave me a Teller smile and shook his head. I knew there was something else going on and I knew it was going to drive me crazy for another eighty-two and a half days.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay but I hope you liked the update :) We get to see a little more of Happy coming out in Ollie now. BTW Happy and Tig being inside has to do with what happened to Freya but it won't be detailed any further. Any thoughts on the next chapter? OH and I'm considering a Abel/Freya story but I haven't decided on whether or not to do it yet. XOXO**


	18. Normal

HOPE

I hopped out of my bed and rushed into the bathroom to shower and get ready. Washing my hair and body seemed to be done on auto-pilot as I rushed through the motions. Today was the day. Dad was finally coming home and I had a huge party planned for he and Uncle Tig.

"Mom! Do you like this dress?" I said, barging into her and Dad's room in a white dress with pink flowers at the bottom. She rubbed her eyes and looked over at me.

"It's pretty, sweetie. What time is it?" She asked, blinking at the clock. I kept telling her she needed glasses but she refused to listen to me.

"Seven-forty. Do you think Daddy will like this dress?" I asked, looking down at it and wondering if it made me look like too much of a little girl. I was turning sixteen soon and I didn't want to look like a baby.

"Sweetie, he'll like whatever you wear. You get that he wears pretty much the same thing everyday when he's home, right?" Mom asked. I opened my mouth and closed it sharply. I didn't know why she was trying to rain on my parade. I spun around and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me and instantly waking Harry up. I regretted it a little.

"Seriously, Hope?" Ollie yelled, kicking my door on his way down the hallway. I shot him a bird through the door and rolled my eyes. Why everyone was in such a foul mood was beyond me. I peeled the dress off over my head and tossed it on the bed as I walked back into my closet.

"Can you come over? Like, now?" I asked Freya once she finally answered the phone. She groaned and I head Abel asking who it was sleepily. I blushed despite trying not to.

"What's wrong?" Freya asked through a lion like yawn. I knew if I told her I didn't know what to wear, she'd hang up on me.

"Just, come over. It's important." I said, ending the call and ignoring her two attempts to call me back. Not fifteen minutes later, she walked into my bedroom in a black tank and blue jeans with untied boots. I hated that even just out of bed she looked so much prettier than me.

"What's wrong, Hope?" She asked again. I motioned towards my closet and sighed.

"I have no idea what to wear today. It's not like it matters though. I could wear Armani and you'd still be prettier than me." I said, letting my emotions get the best of me. Freya sighed and pushed her falling hair back.

"Hope, you really called me before eight because you don't know what to wear?" I narrowed her eyes at me and she laughed. "You're ridiculous, by the way. You look just like Mom. You two are gorgeous."

"Whatever. What am I supposed to wear? I don't want to look like a baby." I said, motioning hopelessly to my closet. Freya rolled her eyes and walked in, reappearing a few minutes later with a white eyelet summer dress, black sandals and my leather jacket. I raised my brow and hesitated before taking it.

"You need to condition that jacket, baby girl. Do you want to get breakfast with Abel and I?" She asked as I zipped the dress. I turned away so she could finish zipping the part I could reach and so she couldn't see my blush.

"Yeah, sure. Are you going like that?" I asked, motioning towards her outfit. She narrowed her eyes at me and propped her boot up on my bed rail. After tying both and righting her belt she looked over at me.

"Is that better, princess?" I wanted to tell her no, but I just nodded instead. Ollie was walking out of his room as Freya and I made it out into the hallway. "Ollie, breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'll drive. Let me ask Mom if she wants us to bring her back anything." He said, knocking softly on the nursery door. I followed Freya down the stairs, almost missing the last one and falling right into her back. Abel raised his brow at me and I bit my bottom lip, hard.

"Crisis averted?" He asked, standing up and displacing Tank off his lap. Freya scoffed and shook her head.

"Something like that. Ollie and Hope are getting breakfast with us." She said. Abel nodded with a smile and put his hand on her lower back. "Hope."

I couldn't help staring at his smile or the way his jeans hung low on his hips. He was like a movie star standing in my living room. I knew it was horrible of me to see him like that, considering he and Freya were together, but it wasn't my fault. I wasn't the one that made him be so drop dead gorgeous.

"Hope!" Freya snapped her fingers and I shook my head, trying to recover smoothly. I gave her a smile as I met her eyes. "Tell Ollie we'll meet you at the diner. I'll go ahead and order you some coffee so you can wake the hell up."

I followed them towards the door and wondered what was taking Ollie so damn long. I leaned against the door jamb and watched as Abel put his helmet on and started his bike. His muscles looked even better under the reaper tattoo on his right arm. I wondered what getting tattooed must feel like.

"You get that he's way older than you and way dating your older sister, right?" Ollie said, making me jump out of my skin. I whipped around and glared at him. "Sister or not, she'd kick your ass if you even thought about trying anything."

"Ew?! Gross, he's old." I said, hoping Ollie would believe me. "I was looking at his tattoo, anyways. I can't wait to get mine."

"Yeah, well, you can wait a couple more years. Don't let me forget to order Mom a Belgian waffle and bacon." Ollie said, shoving me towards his truck. I nodded, thankful that the subject was changed to a much safer and less embarrassing topic.

We sat down across from Freya and Abel who were chatting about some motorcycle part that I knew nothing about. If you asked me about biology or animals, I was like an encyclopedia but I didn't know the first thing about motorcycles. Ollie thought it was funny considering our upbringing.

"Tommy wants to know what time you want him at the clubhouse to help set up." Abel said, holding his phone and looking over at me. I blushed and hitched my shoulder. "You two need to go out and get all the awkward shit out of the way."

"What?" I almost choked on my coffee and Abel and Freya laughed. Ollie was sniggering until I stomped on his booted foot. "Thomas Teller and I?"

"Unless you know another Thomas? Seriously, Hope. You blush anytime Abel mentions him." Freya said with a little laugh. I twisted my mouth and swallowed hard. Ollie shook his head.

"You know the dating rule is the same for her as it was for you, Freya. Brother or not, there's no changing Dad's mind." Ollie said, coming to my rescue. I nodded and smiled brightly.

"Oh, well, I guess I'll just have to wait. Anyways, tell him to be there at noon. Are we eating or talking, geeze." I spoke quickly and avoided Freya and Abel's gaze. Ollie was laughing silently and I rolled my eyes behind the menu. I shouldn't have agreed to come to breakfast. What the hell was I thinking?

"Hey, Hope, you got a second?" Abel called out to me as I headed out of the diner behind Ollie and Freya. I paused and turned back to face him. His blue eyes looked down into mine and I felt like I was swimming. "Look, I know Freya's birthday is coming up in a couple months and I wanted your help on finding one of her gifts."

"Oh, um, what were you planning on getting her?" I asked, feeling a little deflated. He glanced through the door and then looked back over at me.

"I'm trying to find her a vintage trunk. Like, one of the big leather and wood ones." He said quickly as Freya walked back towards the diner. Abel flashed her a smile and raised his hand that was holding the to go coffee he'd ordered.

"Hurry up, babe. I want to change before you drop me off at the clubhouse." Freya said with an excited smile. I gave Abel a nod before slipping out of the diner. Ollie raised his brow at me but I just shook my head. There was no way I was going to ruin Freya's birthday surprise.

"Thank you for helping me, Tommy." I said as we finished hanging the welcome home banner. He wiped his hands off on his jeans and nodded with a smile much like Abel and Jax's.

"No problem, Hope. I guess you're excited to have your dad home." He said. I nodded and took a deep breath, as a third generation Teller, he knew better than almost anyone. I reached over for my bottle of water as he moved towards me. My hand hit his chest and I bit my lip.

"Sorry." I said, feeling like my throat was closing in. He smirked and shook his head. I blushed and grabbed my water bottle, moving away from Thomas and over towards the opening clubhouse door quickly. Mom gave me a hug as she walked in with Harry on her hip.

"This looks great, sweetie. Happy and Tig will love it." She said. Harry made motor noises at me and reached out for me. I laughed and took him in my arms.

"Hey, little buddy." I said, kissing the top of his head. He coo'd and aww'd at me before starting to giggle. "Are they getting close?"

"Yeah, should be here in a couple minutes. Do you want to come out here and wait with us?" She asked, waving Thomas over. I nodded and headed outside, babbling along with Harry. I sat down at the picnic table next to Freya and smiled.

"Is the clubhouse still off limits?" She asked, shaking Harry's hand with a grin. I nodded and traced my hand across my throat.

"Go in there before the guys get back and I'll have to take your pretty head off." I said with a wink. She laughed and put her hands up in mock surrender. The sound of motorcycles approaching cut our joking short and I stood up quickly, smoothing my dress and giving Harry a bright smile.

"Hey baby girl." Dad said, pulling me into his arms after kissing Mom. I hugged him tightly, taking in the smell of his leather. Harry giggled and reached out for him as I pulled back. "You two been behaving for your ma?"

"Always! I'm glad you're home, Daddy." I said, kissing his cheek. He already looked more himself than he had last week when I visited him. In the prison he looked pale and tired but being back in his kutte and out in the sun gave him his color and energy back like magic. Harry smacked his hands on the top of Dad's head and gabbed away.

"Me to, Hope." He looked over at Freya and I recognized some tension there. They still hugged and looked happy to see one another, but if was definitely a different energy than before he went in. "We'll talk later, Freya."

She nodded and went to her place under Abel's arm. He and Dad shared a look but neither spoke a word. I rolled my eyes and grabbed Dad's hand, pulling him towards the clubhouse. He played along and closed his eyes when I told him to. He and Tig were both smiling when they opened their eyes.

"Thanks, sweetie. It's awesome." Tig said, kissing the top of my head. The clubhouse was spotless and there was a huge cake sitting on the table beneath the banner Thomas and I had hung up. I gave him a quick hug before joining in on the party that seemed to erupt out of no where.

A couple hours into the party, I noticed that most of my family had disappeared. I sighed and started the search for them, wondering why I was being left out again. I heard Dad's voice booming from the dorm hallway.

"I don't care who he is, Freya! He laid a hand on you. He's done. What the hell did you two do?" I assumed this had to do with the black eye that Freya had a couple months ago.

"We did the right thing and got him some help, Dad. Trust me, it would have been a lot easier to kick his ass." Ollie sounded angry. It was the first time I'd ever heard him sound angry with Dad.

"What about you, Abel? I told you to take care of her while I was inside. Moving in together isn't what I meant. What, you think I don't know about that shit?" Dad sounded like he was getting even more pissed off than when I first walked up. I heard Freya sigh before Abel started talking.

"Hap, we weren't trying to hide moving in together but with everything else going on we wanted to wait to tell you. I have taken care of her. She's not a little kid." Abel said, keeping his voice even. I held a finger up to my lips as Thomas walked up towards me. "Look, Hope worked really hard for the party and you just got home. Shit with Ryder we can handle in church."

"Yeah and shit with you and my daughter we can handle in the ring. You get her knocked up to?" Dad snapped. I bit my lip, waiting for the answer.

"No, I'm not pregnant. I'm not stupid, Dad." Freya had switched to Spanish and I knew she was pissed. I moved away from the door quickly, knowing someone would be busting through it soon enough. After all the work I'd done to get the clubhouse clean and get the cake and banner and everything, all my family wanted to do was argue.

"You okay?" Thomas asked as he climbed the ladder up to the roof where I'd retreated to. I shrugged and looked down at the lot.

"I just wanted everything to go back to normal." I said with a sigh. Thomas nodded and brushed the hair out of my face.

"Darlin, in this life, there is no normal." Thomas said before leaning down and kissing my lips gently. I felt my cheeks warming as we shared my first kiss on top of the clubhouse.

**A/N: After much consideration, I have decided I will try to continue this story. I'm going to take a few days, maybe a week, and brainstorm before jumping in. There will be a time jump and we'll join up with Freya in her mid-twenties. It may be difficult to incorporate the aging, original members so we'll just have to see how it goes :) I'll update here when and if there is a sequel**


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